Radishes and Turnips
by Kerrymdb
Summary: Complete! Neville Longbottom always seems to blend in with the crowd. Set during his sixth year, will he finally be able to stand out? This was written before the release of HBP.
1. A Birthday Wish

A/N – Disclaimer – I own nothing...they all belong to the fantabulous JK Rowling. Please don't sue me. I'm a starving actress. I'm poor.  
  
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Chapter One – A Birthday Wish  
  
"Hi Mum," Neville Longbottom said quietly, sliding into a chair next to his mother's bed. His mother did not look well today. She wouldn't even look at him. Instead, she was staring out of a window, looking over a busy London street.  
  
His father's mouth kept opening and closing. "Hi Dad," Neville said, giving him a bit of a wave. It was Neville's sixteenth birthday today. His grandmother had a birthday dinner planned, but for now, he wanted to spend the time with his parents.  
  
"I'm feeling much better," Neville started, trying to sound cheerful. "I've decided I'm not going to take any abuse from Slytherins this year. I've had enough." He continued on, hoping the sound of his voice would help his parents remember. "I got my O.W.L.S results back. Only one O, which I expected. I got an O in herbology. Grandma wanted me to become an Auror, like you both, but I don't think I'm cut out for it. I'm beginning to think I might make a good healer."  
  
Neville let a silence fall. Gently, he reached over and picked up his mother's hand. He could swear that she squeezed it. "I wish you knew who I was, Mum," he said, wanting her to turn her head. She kept looking out the window.  
  
"Well, I guess I should tell you, Dad. Your wand broke. I've been safe keeping for you for a while now. But I was in a fight, Dad. And your wand was broken. Grandma already told me off. I'm going to have to get a wand of my own now." He told his father.  
  
Neville started chatting again, about unimportant things. "I need to go, Mum and Dad. I'll visit again before I leave for Hogwarts for the year." He stood up and started heading towards the door. He heard a shuffle behind him and closed his eyes. In his heart, he knew she realized that he was her son; just didn't know how to tell him. He turned around and she handed him a napkin. "Thanks, Mum," he said, patting her on the shoulder. She turned and went back into bed. He quickly put the napkin in his pocket for safe keeping.  
  
Neville left the closed ward in a better mood. Even though his parents didn't know who he was, he still loved seeing them. This had been the first time his grandmother had let him see them on his own. He had begged to go by himself. Seeing that he was turning sixteen, she finally relented.  
  
As he started to walk through the lobby, he heard someone call him.  
  
"Neville Longbottom," a dreamy voice said from across the room.  
  
"Luna," Neville stuttered. He looked at Luna. Her hair had grown longer since the last time he saw her. She was wearing a pair of bell- bottom jeans and a tank top. The sandals she was wearing had seen better days.  
  
"Having a good summer?" she asked, her eyes focused on something behind him.  
  
Neville nervously turned around to see what she was staring at. What was so interesting about a clock? "It's my birthday today," he finally said.  
  
Her eyes finally left the clock and focused on his face. "Do you feel any older?" she asked.  
  
Neville thought about that for a moment. "No, I really don't," he said. He realized she had not asked him what he was doing there, and for that he was grateful.  
  
"I'm about to leave. Are you on your way out?" she asked.  
  
Neville nodded.  
  
"Would you like to get a cup of coffee with me? My fascination this summer is muggle coffee shops," Luna said.  
  
"I don't have any muggle money," Neville said.  
  
She waved her hand slowly, "Think of it as my birthday present to you," she said.  
  
They walked in silence. Neville hated to admit it, but he had had a bit of a crush on Luna since they had fought over at the Ministry. I always pick people who would never like me back, he thought to himself. First Hermione, then Ginny, and now Luna.  
  
They stopped in front of a coffee shop called Starbucks. "I've never been in a muggle coffee shop before," Neville said.  
  
"I don't mind them," Luna said, "We can talk about what ever we'd like, because no one would ever believe us. It's quite nice, actually."  
  
She ordered two tall coffees and paid the man expertly with muggle money. Neville was impressed. They sat down at a small table. Luna fished a pair of chopsticks out of the large handbag she was carrying. She then piled her hair on top of her head, and secured it with the chopsticks. Neville was sure that her hair would fall down, but it stayed in place.  
  
"Much better. I wish they'd let the weather be controlled by Mother Nature again. London shouldn't be this hot," Luna said.  
  
"Who's they?" Neville asked.  
  
"You know who they is," Luna said, taking a sip of her coffee.  
  
"I do?"  
  
"Yes, you do," Luna said quietly.  
  
Neville took a sip of coffee and instantly remembered why he hated the stuff. He choked the liquid down and decided to pretend like he was drinking.  
  
After a moment's pause, Luna said, "Thank you for not asking why I was there."  
  
Neville was taken aback. "You didn't ask me why I was there," he said simply.  
  
"Then we'll agree that it was just a coincidence that we met today?" Luna asked.  
  
He shrugged, "That's fine," he said.  
  
"So you're sixteen. One more year till you're an adult," she said. Neville nodded. Luna looked upset with herself.  
  
"What's wrong?" Neville asked, hoping he hadn't done anything wrong.  
  
"I hate when I point out the obvious. It's a bad habit of mine," she said.  
  
"When's your birthday?" Neville asked.  
  
"I was born on Christmas Eve," she said, "When my mother was alive, she said I was the best Christmas present ever."  
  
Neville smiled. "Did you do well in your O.W.L.S?" Luna asked. "I won't be offended if you don't want to tell me," she added.  
  
"I did allright. I think I disappointed my grandma. I only received one O. My father got six Os."  
  
Luna finished her coffee and was spinning the cup on her finger. "Nobody's perfect. Its just so many people want you to believe that they are."  
  
Neville wasn't quite sure what to say after that. "My father let me write an article for the Quibbler," she said softly, "It's coming out in the next edition. I'm hoping that it will force some changes at Hogwarts."  
  
"What's wrong with Hogwarts?" Neville asked curiously.  
  
"Plenty," she said cheerfully.  
  
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Neville checked the newsstand everyday for a week waiting for the next edition of the Quibbler to come out. It finally did and Neville bought two copies. On page five, there was a picture of a boy and girl student in uniform. Luna had written an article about Hogwarts uniforms. More specifically, how sexist the uniforms were, since the girls wore skirts.  
  
Neville paused, he never really gave the uniforms much thought. To tell the truth, he rather liked the skirts the girls wear. He never thought the girls minded wearing them. Luna wrote about skirts as if they were the worst things in the world. Neville had to shudder when she described wearing the skirts in the dead of winter. He wondered if the article would make a difference.  
  
Luna was in the back of his mind for the next few weeks. He was extremely busy; trying to finish all of the homework he had received over break. When he made the trip to see his parents for the last time before term started, he half hoped she would be there too. He even exchanged some money, so that he could take her out for a coffee if they met.  
  
When he saw his parents, he felt the familiar tug at his heart. His mother hadn't combed her hair a few days, so Neville decided to brush it for her. She seemed very relaxed as he did this. Once or twice Neville hit a tangle, and his mother would wince. But then would sigh when the discomfort had passed.  
  
Neville talked about Luna, about what an interesting person she was. He went on to talk about other trivial things. His father didn't even notice that Neville was there. Neville reached into the back pocket of his jeans. He wasn't wearing a robe since he had been walking around muggles. He took out a photograph of his parents holding him. Neville would have been just a few days old. His parents looked happy and were smiling brightly. Neville always carried this photo with him. Usually, he had it in the pocket of his robes, where he could look at it whenever he wanted.  
  
Saying good-bye to his parents, he went down towards the lobby hopefully. He left the hospital, head hanging. Neville had really gotten his hopes up that she would be there.  
  
He had only walked a block, when he heard, 'Neville Longbottom, we meet again."  
  
He turned around quickly. Luna was standing there. She was wearing a pair of enormous sunglasses. Her hair was in three braids.  
  
"Would you like..." they both started at the same time.  
  
Luna giggled, while Neville looked embarrassed. "Would you like some coffee?" he asked quietly.  
  
"That would be wonderful," Luna said, taking Neville's arm.  
  
Neville walked into the Starbucks feeling ten feet tall. When they got up to the counter, he opened his mouth before Luna could order.  
  
"One tall coffee and one earl grey tea, please," he said to the man behind the counter.  
  
"That'll be six pounds and seventeen pence," the clerk said.  
  
Neville fished out his muggle money and stared at it for a moment. He couldn't remember which one was the five pound note. Luna then took a bill out of Neville's hands and handed it to the clerk.  
  
"Three pounds and eighty-three pence is your change," the man said pleasantly, handing the money back to Neville.  
  
"Thank you," he whispered to Luna. She just smiled.  
  
They went to sit down at one of the small tables. After a moment's silence, Luna asked serenely, "Did you plan this?"  
  
Neville blushed, "I hoped...well, I mean to say...maybe?" he stuttered.  
  
Luna arched one eyebrow, "Maybe?"  
  
"I was hoping that I might meet you again, that's all," Neville said, turning almost scarlet.  
  
She smiled, "I've been at St. Mungos twice since we met there, and I was hoping to see you each time as well."  
  
"Really?" Neville asked, his heart soaring.  
  
She nodded and looked off into the distance. Another silence came between them. Neville couldn't think of what to say next.  
  
"Did you read my article in the Quibbler?" she asked.  
  
"I did. When you talked about walking through the snow in your skirts..." Neville started.  
  
"It's too late this term to make changes, but I would be very happy if changes are made," she said calmly. Why did she always look at peace with herself?  
  
"I have to go Neville. I was on my way to the hospital when I saw you," she said, standing up.  
  
Neville stood up as well. "I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express," she said. To Neville's surprise, she stood up on tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. Neville couldn't say anything if he had wanted to.  
  
Luna sighed, "That was obvious, wasn't it? I really need to stop doing that." A moment later, she was gone.  
  
Suddenly, Neville couldn't wait for the school year to begin. 


	2. Diagon Alley

Disclaimer – For a little part of this chapter, dialogue from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is used. I think you'll all know where, and hopefully can understand why I've chosen to use her words. There simply is no point in trying to improve upon JK Rowling's perfection.  
  
Chapter Two – Diagon Alley  
  
_"Longbottom?" repeated Bellatrix. Neville looked at her face, truly alive for the first time this evening. So this was the woman who had stolen Neville's parents from him. "Why I had the pleasure of meeting your parents, boy..."  
  
The smile was more than Neville could bear, "I DOE YOU HAB!" Neville screamed. He was in agony; blood pouring freely down his robes. He wanted to hurt her, like she had his parents...  
  
"Somebody stun him!" A masked Death Eater yelled.  
  
"No, no, no," Bellatrix said, "No, let's see how long Longbottom lasts before he cracks like his parents..."  
  
Neville desperately tried to escape his captors. But their grip was too strong for Neville to fight them off.  
  
Bellatrix raised her wand, a truly evil smile upon her lips. "Crucio!"  
  
Neville was on the floor, slithering in agony. His insides were on fire. His screams only escalated the pain..._  
  
Neville Longbottom woke up with a start, his heart racing. He briefly glanced around him, and took a deep breath. He was in his bedroom, he was safe. Neville had had that same exact dream almost every single night since he had fought along side Harry Potter in the Department of Mysteries.  
  
He looked at the hourglass on his bedside table. He didn't have to get up for another two hours. Neville knew there was no way he would be able to go back to sleep after that dream. It was so vivid. He almost could feel traces of the Cruciatus Curse when he had the dream.  
  
Getting up out of bed, he walked over to the small desk that he had made for himself years ago. He smiled. One of the legs had been too short so his grandmother had let him use a copy of her Witch's Digest Weekly to balance the desk.  
  
For the first time in a long time, Neville wished he had someone to talk to. Someone who he could tell about these dreams that he had been having. He was sure Harry would understand. But he and Harry had never had that kind of confiding friendship. Out of the five sixth year Gryffindor boys, Neville had been the one left out.  
  
Dean and Seamus were best friends, just like Harry and Ron. Neville was friends with them all, but was no one's closest friend. Right now that was what Neville needed. He needed a best friend. Someone that would listen to him describe the dream and say, "Sorry, mate." Someone who would suggest drinking a cup of dreamless sleep before going to bed. Someone who would try to make him laugh, to help him forget about the dream.  
  
He couldn't tell his grandmother. She had been beside herself when she had found out what had happened that night. Neville couldn't really blame her. His father had been her only son. Neville, her only grandchild. He didn't want to cause her anymore worry.  
  
Taking out his quill, he flattened a piece of parchment onto the desk. He sucked the tip of the feather for a moment. Neville started writing down all of his feeling about that night. Seeing Bellatrix, watching Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Luna become badly injured and his thoughts about his parents.  
  
When he was done with the parchment, he folded it up and tore it into as many pieces as he could. He felt like a tiny weight had been lifted off of his shoulder.  
  
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"Neville! Time to go to Diagon Alley!" his grandmother cried.  
  
It was hours later and Neville was up, dressed and ready to go. He loved going to Diagon Alley. He was very excited about the trip today; he would be getting a new wand. Stifling a yawn, he ran downstairs. His grandmother was standing by the fireplace, holding the box of floo powder.  
  
"Ready?" she asked, straightening her vulture-topped hat.  
  
"Ready," he told her, taking a handful of powder. Neville threw the powder over the flames. Stepping inside the fire, he yelled "Diagon Alley," clearly. When Neville was younger, he once stuttered while saying the word and ended up in a very strange witch's house. She made him stay for tea and make a doily before she would let him leave.  
  
Neville didn't particularly like traveling by floo powder; it made him very dizzy. But there was no other way for him to get there, so that's how he traveled. Neville misjudged the exit and banged his head on the mantle on his way out.  
  
Rubbing his head, he saw his grandmother appear before him. "Let's go to Ollivander's first," she said.  
  
"Right," Neville replied following her lead.  
  
They walked in silence to the store. His grandmother would nod or say "Hello," to someone every so often. Finally, they reached the store.  
  
Mr. Ollivander was behind the counter when they entered. "Come to get your own wand at last, Mr. Longbottom?" he asked.  
  
"My grandson broke his father's wand. It was beyond repair," his grandmother said, shaking her head.  
  
"A great loss, I'm sure. But I did warn you that Mr. Longbottom would not excel without a wand of his own, did I not?" Mr. Ollivander asked quietly.  
  
His grandmother looked insulted. "Neville was proud to use Frank's wand for the last five years, weren't you Neville?" she asked directly to him.  
  
Neville mumbled, "Of course." He saw that a tape measurer was taking his measurements.  
  
"Let's see what I can find you, Mr. Longbottom. Now your father's wand was ebony and dragon heartstring, 12 ½ inches, was it not?"  
  
"That's right," Neville's grandmother answered for him  
  
Mr. Ollivander walked out of the back room holding several boxes. "Please hold out your wand hand." Neville complied. A short wand was placed in his hand. His grandmother's hat squawked.  
  
Mr. Ollivander shook his head and placed another wand in Neville's hand. This time a few drops of rain fell on Neville's head. "No, not the one," Mr. Ollivander said under his breath.  
  
Then Neville was given a very light colored wand. The moment it was placed in his hand, Neville knew that this was his wand.  
  
"Excellent!" Mr. Ollivander said as a flash of red light emitted from the tip. "Walnut and a unicorn hair, 10 and ¼ inches. This was from one of the more gentle unicorns I have ever come across. Would have given me ten more hairs if I had asked!"  
  
"Thank you," Neville said softly, his eyes not leaving his new wand. He couldn't wait until he could try it.  
  
Mr. Ollivander simply bowed, while Neville's grandmother went up to the counter to pay.  
  
When they left the shop, Neville's grandmother surprised him. "Would you mind if I left you here to do your own shopping?" she asked him.  
  
"Of course not, Gran. Is anything wrong?" he asked worriedly.  
  
She shook her head, "No, nothing's wrong. I'd like to go to dinner with Griselda. This is one of the only nights she's free."  
  
"Okay." Neville tried not to look too excited. He had never been able to wander around Diagon Alley by himself before!  
  
"Be home by eight," she warned. She handed him some money, "Now this is for your supplies. There's a little extra in case you want an ice cream."  
  
"Thanks, Gran," he told her, giving her a light kiss on the cheek. A moment later, she apparated out of sight.  
  
Neville didn't know what to do first. It was hot out, an ice cream didn't sound so bad. Neville smiled, he knew he should pick up his school supplies first. He fished his book list out of his robes and took a look. He only needed a couple of new books. Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six, and Why do Muggles do That? for his Muggles Studies class. He had only signed up for Muggle Studies because he had heard Hermione was going to take the same class. Little did he know that she would drop out after third year.  
  
As Neville walked into Flourish and Blotts, he saw something that made him stop in his tracks. Draco Malfoy was in the store with his mother. Remembering that he was going to start standing up for himself this year, he walked inside with his high up. Last year, he would have turned right around and not gone back in there for at least an hour to make sure Malfoy was gone.  
  
Neville went to the Muggle section and noticed that Malfoy was whispering something to his mother. She nodded and Malfoy started walking over to him. "The Ministry of Magic was just a warm-up, Longbottom. You'll be in St. Mungos with your crazy ol' parents before long," Malfoy whispered through clenched teeth.  
  
The sound of Bellatrix' laughter echoed through Neville's mind. He turned and faced Malfoy. He was pleased to see that he had finally grown taller than him. "Don't ever talk about my parents again, Malfoy. You're not even worthy to speak their names." Neville grabbed the book he needed and headed towards the counter, leaving Malfoy standing there with his mouth open.  
  
Quickly, he paid for his two books and ducked into another store. He needed a moment to catch his breath. He couldn't believe it! For the first time in his life, Neville had said exactly the right thing at exactly the right time! He couldn't wait to tell someone from the D.A.  
  
His elation stopped there. Telling someone what he had said would mean having to tell that someone about his parents. Neville simply wasn't ready to do that yet. He thought for a moment. He would tell Harry when the time seemed right.  
  
Neville wandered around Diagon Alley for a few more hours. He bought some potion supplies, and a new tie for his uniform. He always liked to have an extra for when he lost one. And with Neville it was always when, not if he lost one. He saved the best shop for last. "Henrietta's Herbs and Plant Shop," was Neville's favorite store. He knew if he had the chance, he could spend hours there. His grandmother never let him spend a lot of time there when she was with him. Today he had all the time in the world. He looked down at his watch, well, he had three hours and seven minutes.  
  
Two hours and twenty-two minutes later he exited the store. He had bought two huge shopping bags worth of seedlings and plants. Professor Sprout had promised Neville that he could have his own section in the greenhouse this year. He would be able to grow and raise whatever he wanted. Neville checked to see how much money he had left. He had just enough for a small ice cream.  
  
Neville went over to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream parlor and ordered a small peppermint cookie ice cream. The sun was still out, so he settled himself at a table outside, where he could watch the crowds go by.  
  
After a few minutes, he saw Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George Weasley, with a woman who had fought at the Ministry with them. The crowd stopped briefly to say hello, but didn't stay long since they were going to The Finer Miner's Diner. Neville wanted to shout out and tell them all what he had said to Malfoy, but held his tongue.  
  
A few minutes to eight, he headed back to the fireplace that had brought him here. Looking at his watch, he realized that there were only sixty- three hours left until he would be on the Hogwarts Express. 


	3. THe Hogwarts Express

A/N – I have officially started my own little Kerrymdb Potter Universe. I have a few stories up, and there will probably be references from other stories all intertwined. So yes, EricaDawn, that was Tonks that Neville saw in Diagon Alley. Good catch! That was the same day that Tonks took Harry there in The Forgiveness Within.  
  
Chapter Three – The Hogwarts Express  
  
The sixty-three hours went faster then Neville could imagine. First he had to pack his trunk, which was always an ordeal. He would think he was finished, and then realize that he had forgotten something. He must have had to pack and repack ten times.  
  
More important than packing was finishing his homework. Neville spent the night before he left for school hunched over at his desk. His hand hurt, after so much writing, but he kept on going. After a few hours, his grandmother provided a welcome distraction.  
  
"Neville! The owls are here to pick up your plant!" his grandmother yelled from downstairs. Neville stood up eagerly. His favorite plant, his Mimbulus mimletonia was up in a corner of his bedroom. It had grown too large for Neville to take with him on the Hogwarts Express. His grandmother hired a delivery service that would take the plant to Hogwarts.  
  
"Send them up, Gran!" Neville called downstairs. A moment later, four large owls came flying into Neville's room.  
  
"Here it is," Neville said, walking over to the plant. It was making soft noises.  
  
"Just one minute," Neville told the owls, "I have to put a cover on it." The owls hooted and went to sit on the open windowsill.  
  
Neville stroked one of the leaves gently. "It's a long journey to Hogwarts, but you'll be fine," Neville told his plant. Neville firmly believed in the school of thought that you should talk to your plants. He quickly put the cover he had made for the plant.  
  
"Here you go!" The owls flew to the plant, each picking up a handle of the cover. They flew very slowly out of the bedroom, downstairs. Neville ran to the window. A moment later, he watched the owls fly out of the house and into the night. His eyes didn't leave the plant until it was no more than a speck in the sky.  
  
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"Neville. Up!" his grandmother called the next morning. Neville opened his eyes groggily. He hadn't had his normal nightmare last night. He closed his eyes again, trying to remember the dream he did have. It had involved his parents. During a time when his parents were young and strong. Pushing the covers off of him, Neville stood up. The dream was gone.  
  
Quickly, Neville put on his school uniform. Well, most of his uniform. He left his tie off. He hated to admit it, but Neville was sixteen years old and still could not tie a proper Windsor knot. During the school year, he always used magic. And he wasn't able to use magic again until he was on the Hogwarts Express. So the tie would have to wait.  
  
He took one last quick look around the room. He knew he had forgotten something. He just wasn't sure what. Luckily, he was used to that feeling. "Neville!" his grandmother yelled from downstairs.  
  
"I'm coming, Gran!" Neville cried. He decided he was ready as he ever could be.  
  
His grandmother was standing by the fireplace, holding the bowl of floo powder. "Hurry up, boy," his grandmother said. "Do you have everything?" she asked.  
  
"I hope so," he grinned, taking a handful of powder. A minute later, he was at the King's Cross Station.  
  
His grandmother apparated in front of him a moment later.  
  
"Trevor!" Neville shouted. "I forgot Trevor!"  
  
His grandmother sighed, as she handed him another handful of floo powder.  
  
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After putting his trunks with the rest of the luggage, he walked onto the Hogwarts Express. A quick glance at his watch told him that the train would be leaving in only three minutes. He walked down the corridor, looking for someplace to sit.  
  
Hermione and Ron gave him a quick wave from the Prefect's compartment. Neville walked all the way towards the end. Most of the compartments were full already. He opened the door to the very last one. Harry and Ginny were talking enthusiastically, and Luna was there too. She wasn't joining in the conversation, but staring out the window.  
  
She had her wand behind her ear and was wearing a bracelet on each wrist that looked like they were made out of feathers. She nodded at Neville when entered, and went right back to looking out the window.  
  
"Hey, Neville," Harry and Ginny said at the same time.  
  
Neville smiled, glad to be back with his friends.  
  
"Have a good summer?" Ginny asked, as the train lurched forward.  
  
"Quiet, you know," Neville answered, "I didn't do much. I was almost ready to go back to school."  
  
Harry grinned, "I know that feeling. I couldn't wait to leave my house."  
  
"I can't believe they didn't let you come over to the Burrow, even for a few days," Ginny added.  
  
Harry and Ginny started talking about past Burrow incidences. Which left Neville free to talk to Luna. He was about to turn to say something to her when she turned and stared at all for them.  
  
"You weren't chosen to be a prefect, Ginny," she said matter of factly.  
  
Ginny giggled, "No, I wasn't, thank goodness. I prefer to keep the respect of Fred and George. Can you even imagine me a prefect?"  
  
Harry laughed and punched her on the arm. "You can be as bad as those two."  
  
Ginny blushed, "Why thank you! I think Mum was disappointed when I wasn't chosen. I am the last Weasley to enter Hogwarts, after all."  
  
A moment later Ginny said, "You weren't chosen to be a prefect either, Luna."  
  
Luna nodded. "I wouldn't make a very good prefect," she said, changing her focus, so that she was looking out the window again.  
  
"Did you want to be a prefect?" Neville asked.  
  
"No. I want to keep my sanity," she said.  
  
"Err...let's play a game of exploding snaps, shall we?" Harry asked, getting out the cards. "Luna? Would you like to play?"  
  
"No thank you. I don't want to lose my concentration," she said serenely.  
  
After minutes of playing, in which Neville was losing by quite a lot, they group noticed that Luna had gotten to her knees on the seat. Her face was pressed right up to the glass.  
  
"What are you doing, Luna?" Ginny asked.  
  
"I'm looking for Kifern Faeries," she said, placing her hands on the glass as well.  
  
"Kifern Faeries?" Harry asked, dumbstruck.  
  
"I told Dad I would do some research for him. They can only be seen at high speeds. There's going to be an article next month," she said.  
  
"I've never heard of Kifern Faeries," Neville said.  
  
"They're going extinct. There are only a few hundred left in all of Britain," she paused. "We're about to go over water. They won't be out here," she said sadly.  
  
That moment, Trevor chose to croak loudly.  
  
"May I see your toad?" Luna asked.  
  
Neville reached into his robes, grabbed Trevor and handed him to her. She looked at him inquisitively. As she studied him, Ron and Hermione entered the compartment.  
  
"Hey, mate," Ron started, but then noticed that all eyes were on Luna and Trevor.  
  
After two minutes of silence, Luna amazed them all by kissing Trevor on the top of his head. He croaked loudly as she handed him back to Neville. She then went and stared out of the window again.  
  
"What was that?" Ron asked.  
  
"Ron!" hissed Hermione.  
  
"Cornelius Fudge got his job by banishing the former Minister of Magic's soul into a frog. If the right frog is kissed, his soul will rejoin his body," she said dreamily, still staring out of the window.  
  
Ron pointed at his head and made a circular motion, as if to say, "Cukoo."  
  
"I did see that, Ronald Weasley, in the reflection on the glass," Luna said, "That wasn't very nice."  
  
Ron blushed furiously. It was one thing to say something behind her back, completely different to have her see him tease her.  
  
"Sorry," he muttered, looking ashamed.  
  
"That's allright. You're not the first to find me a little odd," she said.  
  
An uncomfortable silence fell over the group. Luckily, just at that time, the lady with the cart passed by. "Like anything from the trolley?" she asked the group.  
  
Harry bought sweets eagerly. Neville bought himself a chocolate frog. Harry started to dole out the candy. "Would you like some candy, Luna?" he asked.  
  
Luna shifted her weight, and faced the group. "No, thank you, Harry," she said calmly, "I've given up sugar."  
  
Ron stared at her in horror. "You've given up sweets? Are you mad?" he asked.  
  
She nodded, and brought out a large carrot from her handbag.  
  
"You're not trying to lose weight, are you?" Hermione asked, concerned, "You're already very thin, Luna.  
  
Luna shook her head. "I'm just trying to be healthy," she said, taking a large bite from her carrot.  
  
Ron looked from the pile of candy to Luna's carrot and just shook his head.  
  
-------------------------  
  
The rest of the journey passed pleasantly. The group played more games of exploding snaps. Luna kept to herself, but once in a while interject with a comment. Before they knew it, they had reached Hogwarts.  
  
"Come on, Ron, we need to supervise," Hermione scolded.  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming. See you at the feast, Harry!" Ron said, leaving the compartment quickly.  
  
Ginny and Harry ran out after them, leaving only Neville and Luna. Luna stood up slowly and turned to look at Neville. "You don't have your tie on, Neville," she said.  
  
Neville looked down. Indeed, he hadn't put his tie on yet. He fished his tie out of the pocket of his robes and swung it around his neck. Then grabbed his wand.  
  
"Here. I'll do it," Luna said, taking the tie. Gently she wrapped the tie around him. Neville could see her tongue sticking out slightly between her lips. He gulped as she tied a perfect knot for him.  
  
"Thanks," he said softly.  
  
She smiled and left the compartment, leaving Neville alone with Trevor.  
  
-------------------------  
  
He didn't see her again until the feast. And then it was only across the tables. Neville sat down with his fellow 6th year Gryffindors, waiting for the feast to begin. He glanced across to the Ravenclaw table. There Luna was, staring at the ceiling. He noticed that there was no one across from her. Even the people that sat on either side of her left some space.  
  
The first years marched into the Great Hall, blocking his view of Luna. Neville noticed that the number of first years looked smaller this year, or maybe he was just imagining it.  
  
Luna left his mind when Professor Dumbledore started his speech. "Another year is beginning. Though this year, as you all are aware, is different than any before. This year we are at war with Lord Voldemort and his followers." A collected gasp came out from the students at the sound of you-know-who's name. "We need our courage. And that includes the courage to call the threat by his name. Extra wards have been placed on the castle. As I have assured many parents, Hogwarts is safe."  
  
Dumbledore then started speaking about the typical rules, the Forbidden Forest and what not. Neville, along with almost every other student, was waiting for Dumbledore to say the wonderful words that would start the feast. Finally, he said them. "Nit! Bonk! Feat!"  
  
Neville sighed as the table filled with food. The candy on the train simply didn't fill him up. He ate eagerly. Glancing over at Luna, he noticed that she was only picking at her food, not really eating at all.  
  
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A/N – Hey all! I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for other fanfiction sites. I've heard people mention some, but I can't find them in a search. Does anyone have other sites they like to go to? I'd like to post my stories on other sites, as well as fanfiction.net. If you know of any, feel free to drop me an e-mail, or a review. Thanks! 


	4. Class Schedules

**Chapter Four – Class Schedules**  
  
"Double potions with Slytherin again!" Ron Weasley whined, throwing his schedule down onto the table.  
  
Hermione gave him a pointed look. "You didn't have to take potions this year, Ron."  
  
Ron rolled his eyes. Neville gulped. He had really hoped that potions wouldn't be with Slytherin again. He didn't think he was brave enough to stand up to Professor Snape yet. Check that, he knew he wasn't brave enough to stand up to him.  
  
Neville checked the rest of his schedule. Not too bad. He had a three- hour break on Tuesdays. That would be a perfect time to work in the greenhouses privately. After the feast last night, Neville spent the rest of the evening repotting his plant. He hoped he would remember to check on it between classes.  
  
Just then the owl post flew in. Neville looked up and recognized his grandmother's owl. He had hoped that this year he hadn't forgotten anything. The owl dropped a package in his lap and flew off. Neville opened it and started laughing.  
  
"I forgot my rememberall!" he chuckled. A few other Gryffindors laughed with him.  
  
His first class was the most boring class of all: The History of Magic. He couldn't believe that he had to take this class for another two years. The problem was Neville's forgetfulness. He always confused dates, places and people. Facts just wouldn't stay in Neville's head straight. He told himself he had to try, and dutifully took notes for the next ninety minutes.  
  
He looked over at Hermione and sighed. She always was so alert in class. He knew she would never confuse Norish the Terrible with Norbit the not-so- terrible. Neville looked outside. The sun was shining and it was beautiful outside. He wished he could be in the greenhouses right now.  
  
The moment the bell rang, every student perked up and bolted out of the classroom. He had Charms in the afternoon. He liked Professor Flitwick.  
  
"We will be working on a number of different charms this year. First will be vanishing charms, followed by memory charms, and last but not least, cleaning charms."  
  
The students groaned. "I know cleaning charms seem boring, but they are very helpful in everyday life," Professor Flitwick squeaked.  
  
Neville was glad when the day was over. He rushed to the greenhouses as soon as class was done. Professor Sprout was just finishing up with a class. Neville's stomach gave a little lurch when he saw that it was Luna's class.  
  
Professor Sprout released the class, and Luna seemed to be slow getting to her feet. Neville walked in quietly. When Luna saw him, she smiled and said "Hello, Neville Longbottom."  
  
Neville smiled back. She looked beautiful today. Her hair was piled up on top of her head with chopsticks. It still gave the look of wanting to fall out of place. She had the sleeves of her blouse rolled up above the elbows. Her hands were covered in earth.  
  
"Did you have a good day?" he asked shyly.  
  
"Tolerable," she said, "I have Potions in the morning and Herbology in the afternoon. I love the work in Potions, but Professor Snape has never been very kind to me."  
  
"I have class with Professor Snape tomorrow. "I really don't like him," Neville whispered.  
  
"He's not a very nice man, is he?" Luna asked. "I think he's lonely."  
  
"Lonely? Professor Snape? He's happy as long as he can torment students," Neville said, kicking a bit of dirt on the greenhouse floor.  
  
"He does like to berate people, doesn't he? I think he called me Loony three times today. Maybe I should correct him next time," she said dreamily.  
  
Neville looked at the ground, not sure of what to say next.  
  
"Are you going to the Great Hall?" Luna asked. "I'm going there now to grab some dinner before I go to the library."  
  
Neville shook his head, "No. I have some work to do here."  
  
"You really like Herbology, don't you?" Luna asked, staring at some of the exotic plants.  
  
Neville started to open his mouth to agree when she cut him off, shaking her head. "That is very obvious." She gave him a small smile and walked out the door.  
  
As she walked past, Neville realized she smelled like mangos. Taking a deep breath, he took off his vest, rolled up his sleeves and got to work.  
  
-------------------------  
  
"Congratulations," Professor Snape said to the entire class. "You managed to score high enough on your O.W.L.S. to be placed in this class." He looked in the general direction of Neville. "I didn't think some of you were capable of that feat."  
  
Neville blushed and continued staring at his desk. I should cast a disillusionment charm on myself, he thought. Neville was sitting next to Hermione. He always tried to sit near her, since she was willing to help him.  
  
Neville had the same problem with Potions that he did with the History of Magic. He always seemed to get the directions confused. And Potions was a hundred times worse with Professor Snape breathing down all of their necks.  
  
"Today we will begin working on a truth telling potion called the Certus Potion. It is not as strong as another truth serum called veritaserum. But this potion is not controlled by the Ministry; it can be made at will." Professor Snape waved his wand at the blackboard. "You have until ten minutes before the end of class to finish. Begin."  
  
Neville looked at the blackboard and gulped. Professor Snape always wrote in very small handwriting. He read every instruction twice. Even so, when he had finished making the potion, his still didn't look like Hermione's, who's potion was a light violet. Neville's potion was a very dark purple.  
  
"At least it's purple!" Hermione whispered encouragingly to Neville.  
  
"Is someone brave enough to test their potion in front of the class," Professor Snape said lazily. No one raised their hands.  
  
"No one? I'm disappointed," Professor Snape said. "I'll offer ten points to a successful potion." Neville noticed that he was looking at Harry as he spoke.  
  
Hermione raised her hand. "I'd like to test mine, sir," she said confidently.  
  
"Miss Granger, I should have realized you'd take the bait," he told her.  
  
Hermione walked up to the front of the classroom and handed her vial to Professor Snape. He poured a third into a small glass, handed it to her and said, "Drink. I have given you enough only to last for fifteen minutes."  
  
Hermione drank the potion in one gulp and made a face. Neville guessed that the potion tasted foul.  
  
"What is your favorite subject?" Professor Snape asked. He was clearly uninterested in having Hermione as a test subject.  
  
"Arthimancy," Hermione said at once.  
  
"What is your greatest fear?" he asked.  
  
"Losing my friends to Voldemort," she said.  
  
At once, half the class gave an angry hiss (the Slytherin side) and half shuddered at hearing you-know-who's name. Hearing the name, Neville put his head in his hands. Professor Snape raised one eyebrow and looked at Hermione with what appeared to be respect.  
  
"Very well. That is all," he said picking up the rest of Hermione's potion. He took out a small vial from his robes. He poured some of the liquid of the vial into Hermione's potion. The potion changed from violet to a bright blue.  
  
"Ten points to Gryffindor," he muttered. Then more loudly, he said, "In case you have any ideas, Certus Potion does not require the drinker to answer like veritaserum. Miss Granger doesn't have to answer any question she doesn't want to."  
  
Neville noticed that Ron and Harry looked a little disappointed at that news.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Neville bounded into the transfiguration classroom the next day. This was his third day at Hogwarts and he was finally going to be able to try out his wand. They hadn't actually tried anything in charms. Neville took out his wand and cleaned it with his robes.  
  
Just for the occasion, Neville decided to sit near the front of the classroom. He looked at the students that were entering the classroom. This year, transfiguration was with Hufflepuff.  
  
Professor McGonagall looked just as Neville remembered her, very strict. She sat at her desk, hands folded in front of her, waiting for the students to arrive. Finally, the class was still.  
  
"Welcome to the post O.W.L. level of transfiguration," she said, standing up. "You will be learning some of the most dangerous magic that you will ever learn, starting this year."  
  
Neville gulped.  
  
"This is the year you start learning human transfiguration. In other words, you'll be transfiguring each other," Professor McGonagall lectured. "I expect everyone of you to be paying close attention while you are in my class room. Fooling around will not be tolerated."  
  
Neville hoped that they would transfigure each other before working in pairs. If his new wand helped, maybe people wouldn't avoid his eyes when he looked for a partner.  
  
"The first term will be devoted to transfiguring your body's color and shape. The term after that will involve transfiguring your body to animal parts for enhancements." Professor McGonagall tapped her wand to her ear and her ears changed into a retriever's. The class started laughing.  
  
"Laugh if you must," Professor McGonagall said, "But my hearing is now enhanced. Very enhanced, Mr. Finnegan. I don't appreciate being called a 'crazy old bat.' One point from Gryffindor."  
  
-------------------------  
  
The following day, after Muggle Studies and Divination, Neville went to the greenhouse to check his Mimbulus Mimletonia plant. Professor Sprout asked if she could have a clipping to try to grow her own for the Hogwarts' greenhouse. Neville was happy to donate a bit for the greenhouse.  
  
The fifth year class was just leaving the greenhouse. Ginny Weasley waved to him, and Neville smiled back. He remembered his fourth year. The first half he liked Hermione. When she said she couldn't go to the Yule Ball with him, he was surprised how quickly his allegiance switched to Ginny. She was very nice to him at the ball, and didn't seem to mind that much when he stepped on her feet. Luckily, his crush seemed to disappear when she started dating Michael Conners.  
  
Luna was still in the greenhouse when he entered. She was staring at a Dittany plant, which was one of Neville's favorite plants. He was going to cross breed it with his Mimbulus Mimletonia for a project this term. He was very curious to see what would come of it.  
  
Neville cleared his throat so that he would know that he was there with her. She made no notice that he was there. She kept staring at the plant. Neville supposed that she thought some strange creature lived in the plant, and she was looking for it. He never really knew what to think about Luna's proclamations. Half of him wanted to believe her.  
  
"How's your first week?" Luna asked quietly, still staring at the plant.  
  
By this time, Neville had already rolled up his sleeves and had put on his dragon hide gloves. "Not too bad," he said. "I have a new wand, which I think is going to help."  
  
"Yours broke in the Department of Mysteries, wasn't?" she said, finally turning to look at him.  
  
Neville nodded, not wanting to think of that horrible day.  
  
"Do you ever dream of that day?" she asked softly.  
  
"All the time," Neville answered truthfully.  
  
Luna looked at him with interest. "So do I," she said, "I keep reliving the feeling of being thrown against the desk. It's not pleasant."  
  
"I know," Neville told her.  
  
"Neville?" she asked.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I know you're here to work, but would like to eat dinner together in the Great Hall?" she asked.  
  
Neville was taken aback. "S-Sure," he said, cursing himself for not coming up with a better line.  
  
Luna smiled brightly at him, the first real smile he had seen from her in a while. As Neville took off his gloves, Luna grabbed Neville's backpack, along with her own. Then she took his arm, and they headed towards the Great Hall for dinner.  
  
-------------------------  
  
**A/N – A special thanks to those who told me about different fanfiction websites. Oh, and I changed all the "perfects" to "prefects." Oops!**


	5. Two of a Kind

**Chapter Five – Two of a Kind**  
  
Neville and Luna stopped when they reached the doors to the Great Hall. They looked at each other, "Where should we sit?" Luna asked.  
  
"I don't know," Neville stammered.  
  
Neville could almost see Luna making a decision. "Could we sit at the Gryffindor table? It would be nice to talk to people during a meal," she said brightly.  
  
He didn't say anything, just guided her over to his usual spot near the rest of the sixth year Gryffindors. Neville noticed Ron raise his eyebrows in surprise when he saw Luna approach.  
  
"Hello, Ronald," she said, sitting down in-between Ron and Neville.  
  
"Cheers," Ron said, grabbing a piece of bread.  
  
Neville was trying to decide between the meat loaf and fish. Luna was filling her own plate when she said, "You can always have a bit of each, you know."  
  
"Thanks," Neville muttered, grabbing a piece of fish.  
  
Ron and Harry were talking enthusiastically about the quidditch try-outs that were scheduled for tomorrow. "Poor Katie. She has to find two beaters and two chasers," Ron said.  
  
Harry looked at Ginny, who was sitting with the group. "One chaser, you mean. Ginny's guaranteed a spot," he said, grinning.  
  
Ginny blushed, "I still have to try out," she said.  
  
Neville noticed that Luna was listening to their conversation with interest. "I think Quidditch will be going out of fashion soon," Luna announced.  
  
Harry, Ron and Ginny all turned their heads and gaped at Luna. "There's a new game out, called Jiffney. The Quibbler's doing an article on it. That game looks fun," she continued.  
  
"Quidditch out of fashion?" Ron asked, looking like he was trying not to laugh.  
  
Luna nodded confidently and took a sip of her soup.  
  
A very awkward silence overcame the group. After a minute, in which Luna seemed not to notice the silence, Ginny asked, "Have you ever played quidditch?"  
  
Luna shook her head. "I'm hopeless with sports, Ginerva," she admitted.  
  
Ginny raised her eyebrows as if to say, "There you go." The three continued their conversation about quidditch, leaving Neville and Luna own their own to talk.  
  
"Are you trying out for the quidditch team?" Luna asked.  
  
Neville shook his head. "I haven't flown on a broom since my first flying lesson," he told her, "I like having both feet on the ground."  
  
Luna had a dreamy expression on her face. "I love to fly. I'm not very good, but I love it. Being in the air, like a bird. It's like poetry," she said softly.  
  
Suddenly, Neville had an urge to find a broom, any broom and take it for a ride.  
  
-------------------------  
  
"Show yourself!" Frank Longbottom's voice said confidently, wand at the ready.  
  
Five Death Eaters appeared in front of Frank and Alice Longbottom, masks on and wands out. "Seize him!" A high-pitched voice cried.  
  
"Stupefy!" A deeper voice yelled. The spell hit Alice Longbottom and she started falling to the floor, but two Death Eaters caught her.  
  
"Where is our Master? You know where he is!" Rodolphus Lestrange yelled.  
  
A loud snore from Ron woke him up suddenly. Neville sat straight up. He put his hand up to his forehead; beads of sweat were falling down. Neville had pictured his parent's torture over many times. But that was the clearest he ever had seen it. He could see that his parents were willing to take on the threat, but had been completely taken by surprise. Neville closed his eyes and tried to picture his mother's face as it had been in the dream. She had been so beautiful.  
  
Quietly, as not to wake any one, Neville got out of bed and walked to his trunk. Seamus snorted and rolled over, causing Neville to stand still for a moment. He opened the trunk, and reached down to the very bottom. He took out a small box and brought it back to bed with him.  
  
Making sure the curtains around his bed were tight, he opened the box. Over the years, his mother had given him many candy wrappers and scraps of papers. But there was one piece of paper he prized above all others.  
  
He could clearly remember the day she gave it to him. She was having a good day, smiling and even patting his hand once. When his grandmother ushered him out to leave, his mother stopped him, like every other visit. He put the paper in his pocket, like every other visit. And he didn't think of it again until he got home and looked at it.  
  
She had written the letter N on the parchment.  
  
Maybe it wasn't really an N. Maybe it was a Z, or maybe just a scribble that meant nothing. But Neville convinced himself that there was an N on that sheet of paper. That was the day he told himself that she knew who he was.  
  
-------------------------  
  
All in all, Neville had a good first week back at Hogwarts. His classes were tolerable. In fact, everything seemed to be going well for Neville. Which was exactly why he was worried. Things never worked out perfectly for him. Neville was never upset by this; he just accepted it as a quirk of the universe.  
  
He was thinking that very thing when he was leaving Greenhouse Four. Herbology was his last class of the week, and Neville couldn't think of a better way to start the weekend. He left the greenhouse alone, since Ron, Harry and even Dean and Seamus ran out quickly to get ready for the quidditch tryouts.  
  
Neville was walking past the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom when he saw Luna way down the hall. He thought he saw her give him a small wave. Anyway, she was walking towards him now. Neville's heart gave a small lurch. He was trying to decide if he had the confidence to see if she'd like to take a walk with him over the weekend.  
  
Suddenly, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle came bounding out of the classroom, wands out. "I believe you owe me an apology, Longbottom," Malfoy spat.  
  
Neville was about to reach for his own wand when Crabbe yelled, "Expelliarmus!" It took Neville a moment to realize that his wand was out of his robes. Crabbe even looked surprised to be holding it.  
  
"You're nothing, Longbottom. You're just a big fat loser, who's going to end up just like his parents," Malfoy whispered menacingly.  
  
"I told you not to talk about my parents," Neville muttered. Neville's courage was slowly fading, not having his wand.  
  
"You mean your crazy parents, shut up in the loony bin," Malfoy said. Crabbe and Goyle started laughing loudly.  
  
Malfoy pointed his wand out at Neville. Do something! Neville's brain was screaming, but he didn't move.  
  
"_Locomotor Mortis_," Malfoy said. Neville cursed under his breath.  
  
There were suddenly footsteps behind Malfoy and his gang.  
  
"You're not being very nice," Luna said serenely.  
  
Malfoy looked at her and started laughing. "Loony's here to defend you, Longbottom. She's perfect for you!"  
  
Luna took out her wand so quickly, that Malfoy was even taken aback. "Please leave," Luna asked them all softly, "Or I will report you. You're abusing your position, Draco."  
  
"Who in their right mind would take your word over mine?" Malfoy asked.  
  
Luna raised one eyebrow. "I think you'll find that a lot of people would."  
  
Draco and Luna stared at each other for almost a minute in silence. Then Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle and said, "Let's go." Crabbe dropped Neville's wand and then stepped on it. The three walked past Luna, and Malfoy walked into Luna so hard that she almost fell over.  
  
Luna watched them leave, and then turned to face Neville. Neville was amazed that she still looked calm, as if she and Malfoy were just talking about the weather. "What spell did he put on you?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Leg-locking curse," Neville said, furious with himself, "He got me with that spell first year!"  
  
Luna quickly said the countercurse. Neville watched her chew on her bottom lip. "I'm sorry I butted in."  
  
Neville shook his head miserably. "Don't be." He picked up his new wand and examined it. The wand didn't look broken in any way.  
  
Neville and Luna looked at each other in silence for a moment. "You look upset," Luna said finally.  
  
"I told myself that I was going to stand up to Malfoy this year," Neville said, "I did in Diagon Alley. But he didn't have the two goons with him then."  
  
"It's not nice to call people names, Neville," Luna scolded.  
  
Neville looked at her, not understanding what she was talking about. Then it hit him. He called Crabbe and Goyle 'goons.'  
  
"Sorry," he said under his breath, not knowing if he meant it.  
  
"I don't normally interfere like that," Luna started, "But after what happened at the Ministry, I promised myself that I would also stand up to people."  
  
Neville grinned at her. "We're two of a pair, aren't we?"  
  
Luna tilted her head to one side and smiled at him.  
  
"I mean, not a pair...but we're the same, I mean..." Neville trailed off and started staring at the ground.  
  
Luna giggled softly. Neville decided he had to ask her right then.  
  
"Luna?"  
  
"Yes, Neville?"  
  
"Would you like to take a walk with me tomorrow?" he said, looking at her shoes the whole time.  
  
"I wish I could," Luna said.  
  
Neville looked up, surprised. He thought that she might say yes.  
  
"I have to go to London tomorrow. I won't be getting back until Sunday night," she said.  
  
"I didn't know students were allowed to leave during term," he said.  
  
"They're not. But Professor Flitwick is making an exception for me," she said brightly.  
  
They both started walking towards the Great Hall.  
  
"Why are you going to London?" he blurted out, not able to stop himself.  
  
Luna didn't even flinch, "I have something to take care of."  
  
Neville thought of the times he saw her at St. Mungos. He desperately wanted to ask her if anything was wrong. But they didn't have that kind of friendship. Yet, Neville told himself. Anyway, if something was wrong, surely Luna would have said something.  
  
Before Neville knew it, they had reached the Great Hall. He was disappointed when they went to their respected tables.  
  
-------------------------  
  
When Neville went up to the common room, there was a bit of a party. Gryffindors were celebrating their new quidditch team. Someone had gotten some drinks and snacks from the kitchens. And a wizard's radio was playing Celestina Warbeck's new single.  
  
Neville was eager to join in. He grabbed a butterbeer and sat down in a group with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny.  
  
"Best team we've ever had!" Harry said excitedly.  
  
"Who made it?" Neville asked.  
  
"Miss Ginny Weasley will be our number one chaser," Harry said as Ginny laughed and took a large sip of butterbeer.  
  
"Seamus is our other chaser," Ginny told Neville.  
  
"And I think we have another pair of Weasley twins on our hands," Harry said excitedly,  
  
"Nick and Rick Frobisher," Ron said, "See them? In the corner?" Ron pointed out a pair of identical twins with black wavy hair. They were tall and had a stocky build.  
  
"They're only fourth years, which is great, then they can be on the team for a while," Harry said.  
  
"They crack me up," Ron said, "They threaten anyone who teases them about their names."  
  
The party continued for quite awhile, until Hermione announced that it was time for anyone third year or lower to go to bed.  
  
Neville yawned, and told the group he was turning in himself with the third years. He made his way up to his dormitory quickly. He liked the silence of the dorm when he was alone. The last thought Neville had before going to sleep was if he'd ever have the courage to ask Luna out again. 


	6. The Lady of the Lake

Chapter Six – The Lady of the Lake 

The next week went by just as quick. It took Neville till the fourth potions class until he destroyed a cauldron. It was a record for him; usually he destroyed one by the second or third class.

Neville only saw Luna on the days her class had Herbology. Neither time did she suggest they eat together, and Neville couldn't bring him to ask her.

That Saturday was beautiful. No one in Gryffindor wanted to stay inside. Neville grabbed some homework and went to the lagoon. He decided to do the worst homework first. He opened his potions book and took out a clean sheet of parchment. He wrote the topic of the essay on top of the parchment.

Explain the differences between the Certus Potion and Veritaserum 

A foot and a half on that? Neville flopped on his back. It was too nice a day to do homework. A few minutes later, Neville was sleeping, snoring lightly.

"Neville?" a voice asked.

"Neville?" the voice asked again.

Neville opened his eyes and saw Luna's face only six inches above his. "Luna!" Neville exclaimed, starting to get up. He sat up too quickly and banged his head right into Luna's forehead.

Luna sat up and rubbed her forehead. "I'm sorry!" Neville cried, wanting to crawl into a hole in the ground.

She took her hand away from her forehead and smiled. "It's okay," she said.

"You just surprised me," Neville said softly.

Luna smiled, "I seem to have that effect on people."

Neville turned and looked at her. Her wand was behind her ear and she was wearing earrings that looked like orange slices. It was too hot out for a robe, so she was wearing jeans and plain white t-shirt. The t-shirt was form fitting, and before Neville could stop himself, he took a quick look at her chest. Her breasts were small, but they looked perfect to him.

Bad Neville! He told himself. He wasn't usually one to ogle women. Today she smelled like oranges. Neville wondered if the earring were real.

"Are you doing homework?" Luna asked. Neville nodded. "May I join you?" she asked.

"S-sure," Neville stuttered.

Together they worked on their homework. They took a break when they both finished their potions essays. His on truth potions and Luna's on the properties of the spine of lionfish.

Luna laid down on her back and rubbed her eyes. "It's too nice out to do homework," she said.

Neville nodded in agreement. He wondered if it would be too forward if he lay down too?

Luna sighed. "I'm tired Neville. Would you read to me?" she asked.

"I'm not the greatest reader," Neville admitted.

Luna propped herself up on one side and smiled. "That doesn't matter, I have the story memorized. I just like to hear it," she said shyly.

"Okay," Neville said.

Luna sat up and went through her backpack. She brought out a tattered book and gave it to him. Neville looked at the gold embossed book. "The Legend of King Arthur," Neville read aloud.

"It's my favorite story," she said. Luna laid back down and closed her eyes.

Neville opened the book. "Could you start at chapter sixteen?" Luna asked softly. Neville found the chapter.

"Now this was year, I mean time, time of year in which had been marriage," Neville stopped and took a deep breath, "been set the marriage of King Arthur and the Lady Guinevere at Camelot. World all astir and in a great joy, for glad, I mean for everyone was exceedingly glad that King Arthur was to have Queen for him."

Neville looked at Luna, embarrassed, "I told you that I'm not good at this."

Luna didn't open her eyes. "You're doing fine, Neville," she said dreamily.

He gulped and went on. "King Arthur came to Guinevere and hand, I mean placed one hand beneath her chin and other upon head, and kissed her upon all warm, I mean upon her smooth cheek, all warm and fragrant like velvet for softness."

He decided just to read a little slower. "All those were there lifted voices, I mean lifted up their voices in happiness, giving joy, I mean giving loud voice of joy that those two noble souls had thus met together."

Neville was miserable. He desperately wanted to stop reading, yet he was willing to keep going if it would make Luna happy. Luckily, Luna seemed to sense his discomfort. She rolled over onto her stomach and opened her eyes. "Thank you," she said.

Neville closed the book. After a moments silence, Luna said, "I used to imagine I was the descendent of Guinevere and Sir Lancelot."

"I never liked that Guinevere betrayed King Arthur," Neville said softly.

"Now that I'm older, I agree with you. But when I was young I thought it was so romantic. That she was willing to give up her kingdom for Lancelot," Luna said, playing with some blades of grass.

"I see now that she was weak. I would never betray someone like that," she said.

Neville could scarcely believe that they were having this conversation. "But she didn't love Arthur, she loved Lancelot," Neville said.

Luna shook her head. "That doesn't matter. She made a vow to Arthur and she should have honored that."

Neville didn't have a response for that, so he stayed silent. His eyes wandered over Luna's lower half. He took a sharp breath when he saw how nicely her bottom filled out her jeans. Bad Neville! He told himself again. He quickly moved his eyes. He looked back at her face, and saw that she had fallen asleep.

Over an hour passed, and Neville stayed by her side, working on his homework. He didn't want her waking up by herself. Over the last hour he got into a bit of a routine. Homework for ten minutes, then staring at Luna's sleeping face for a minute. She looked so peaceful when she was sleeping.

He was in the middle of the minute where he watched her when her eyelids fluttered. Neville quickly turned his attention to his homework so she didn't catch him staring.

She sat up slowly and brought her knees to her chest. "How long have I been sleeping?" she asked quietly.

Neville looked at her. "An hour, maybe?" he told her.

He watched her fiddle with her wand. "Are you okay, Luna?" Neville asked, hardly believing he had the courage to ask her that.

She looked at him with those big, gray eyes and smiled sadly. "You know, you're the first person to ask me that," she said.

"Is something wrong, then?" Neville asked, horrified.

"I'm just a little under the weather, that's all," Luna said finally.

"Okay," Neville accepted this.

"Isn't that a silly phrase?" Luna asked serenely.

Neville was taken aback. "What's a silly phrase?" he asked.

"Under the weather, when someone's not feeling well," Luna said, "I mean, technically, the weather is all around us at all times. How can someone be under it?"

Neville laughed easily, "I really never thought about it," he said.

Out of nowhere, Luna asked, "What are you really afraid of?"

Not for the first time, Neville wondered how she could just switch from one topic to the next without warning.

Neville had to think about this question. There was the obvious answer, you-know-who, Professor Snape and Bellatrix Lestrange. He decided to think of a fear that wasn't a person.

He looked at Luna. "I'm afraid that my forgetfulness could hurt someone," he said suddenly.

She looked at him interestedly. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sure you know that I'm forgetful. It's a running joke at this point. I've been this way my entire life. Here's a stupid example. I have to bring a jumper to transfiguration on Wednesday. It's for partner work. What if I forget? Then I don't just lose points for me, I lose points for Dean, my partner," Neville said.

"You can't get yourself worked up over little things like that, Neville," Luna said.

For some reason, Neville suddenly couldn't stop talking. "Remember a few years ago, when Sirius Black had escaped Azkaban?" Luna nodded. "The password kept changing, so I wrote them down. And then I stupidly lost them. And Sirius Black got into our dorm room. He could have killed us all and it would have been my fault!"

"You were there at the Ministry of Magic. What happens if I'm fighting Death Eaters, and I can't remember the right spell? What then? What if someone dies because of me?" Neville was horrified to feel a tear slip down his cheek. He brushed it away angrily, hoping Luna didn't notice.

"I've tried remembrance potions, spells, everything. I just don't have a good memory. I couldn't live with myself if it hurt someone," Neville said, exhausted from getting that out of his system.

Neville felt Luna throw his arms around him. "Everyone's scared like that, Neville," she said, her face buried in his shoulder. "I couldn't say spells fast enough at the Ministry. And because of that, the Death Eaters got into the room with us. All we can do, Neville, is try our best."

"I guess," Neville said.

"Don't guess," Luna scolded, lifting her face to look at him, "Know."

"Allright, I know then," Neville said.

Luna smiled and her silvery eyes lit up. "I'm glad we're friends, Neville Longbottom," she said quietly.

Neville breathed in her scent of oranges and felt a little better. They stayed by the lagoon for the rest of the afternoon.

88888

That same day, Luna invited Neville to eat with her at the Ravenclaw table for dinner. She sat down at her usual spot and Neville sat next to her. At first, several Ravenclaws around them stared. Luna just started eating like nothing was wrong.

Neville put some kidney steak on his plate. "How do you do that?" he asked.

Luna had just taken a sip of her soup. After she swallowed, she asked, "Do what?"

"Not notice anyone. Don't you care that people are staring at you?" Neville asked.

Luna played with her spinach with her fork. "Why should it bother me?" she asked, finally taking a bite.

Neville shrugged. "I always want to hide when people stare," Neville admitted, then taking a bite of his steak.

"If I wasn't sure of who I was, then maybe it would bother me," Luna said after taking a big gulp of pumpkin juice.

"But how do you know who you are?" Neville complained, "I thought teenage years were supposed to filled with self-discovery?"

Luna glanced at the enchanted ceiling. "I know I'm becoming the person I was meant to be. I wouldn't change anything about myself. That's why it doesn't bother me when people call me Loony," she said dreamily. She went back to playing with her spinach.

Neville noticed that several Ravenclaws had been listening to her little speech. Most, like him had a disbelieving look on their face. He really envied that about her, that teasing never seemed to bother her.

They spoke of inconsequential things for the rest of dinner. Mainly, she was trying to explain the rules of Jiffney to him. Neville, not really understanding anything about sports, just nodded his head. He didn't even have to pretend to look interested. She was so passionate in her description of the sport, that he was.


	7. Capillago Secus

**Chapter Seven – Capillago Secus**  
  
_"Crucio!" Bellatrix Lestrange shouted, pointing her wand at Alice Longbottom. Alice fell to the floor, twitching. Her husband Frank struggled with the Death Eaters restraining him.  
  
"Please! Leave her alone. We don't know anything!" Frank Longbottom cried.  
  
"Where is our Lord?" Rodolphus screamed. Alice was still shaking on the floor.  
  
"Stop this!" Frank yelled.  
  
"Enough, place the curse on him," Barty Crouch, Jr. said._  
  
"Neville!" a voice yelled at him.  
  
Neville snapped awake. Harry was looking over him, concerned. "You were having a bad dream, mate. You were shaking like mad," Harry said quietly.  
  
Neville sat up, breathing hard. What had he been dreaming about? He looked at Harry, "Thank you," Neville said softly.  
  
Harry grinned. "No problem. You've woken me up from dreams like that before."  
  
Neville smiled, but the smile didn't quiet reach his eyes.  
  
-------------------------  
  
It was halfway through the week and Neville was eating breakfast in the Great Hall with the other Gryffindors.  
  
"Mail's coming," Ron said, yawning.  
  
Neville took a bite of bacon and didn't think anything of it. His grandmother just sent him some cookies yesterday, so he wasn't expecting anything.  
  
He was surprised when a small black owl dropped something in his lap. He eagerly unrolled the parchment, not knowing what to expect.  
  
_Neville,  
  
Did you remember your jumper? –Luna_  
  
He had completely forgotten.  
  
Neville ran up to the boys' dormitory without saying a word to anyone. He opened his trunk and picked out the first jumper he saw. Then he ran to the transfiguration classroom as quickly as he could. Neville was out of breath when he sat down, but he was just in time.  
  
"Today, we're going to work on changing our hair colors," Professor McGonagall lectured from behind her desk. "Please bring up the jumper you brought to the front of the room. Please remember which one is yours so you can collect it at the end of class."  
  
Neville walked up to the front of the classroom happily. He wasn't quite sure how he could thank Luna.  
  
"Now get in your pairs," Professor McGonagall ordered. Neville went to sit next to Dean. She started throwing random jumpers to the different pairs.  
  
"Most wizards have to use a spell to change their appearance. This spell can drain your energy. There are witches out there that can change their appearance at will. They are called Metamorphmagus. I say witches, since historically, most metamorphs have been women. In the last hundred years, there has only been one known metamorph. They are extremely rare," Professor McGonagall said.  
  
Neville became lost in thought. How wonderful it would be to be able to change what you looked like whenever you want!  
  
"The incantation is _Capillago Secus_," she said, "What you'll do is say the incantation while thinking of the color you want to apply. That's why we brought the jumpers. We'll switch them all through class so everyone can try lots of different colors."  
  
Neville looked at the jumper in front of him. It was a girl's jumper, he could tell by the light blue color. He grinned at Dean, "This color might work well," he joked. Then he noticed Dean was holding a maroon sweater, one he had seen Ron wear a lot.  
  
"Say the incantation together. One, Two, Three." The class repeated Professor McGonagall's words. "Good. Now try it with each other."  
  
Neville pointed his wand at Dean's head and said the spell. Dean's hair started getting lighter. It took almost a minute, but Dean's hair changed into the color of the light blue jumper. Neville was almost panting afterwards. He noticed that other people who had performed the spell looked worn out as well.  
  
"It's a very tiring spell for the caster," reminded Professor McGonagall. "Now switch, and then you can all look at yourselves."  
  
Dean copied the steps Neville had used. Neville watched Dean's face scrunch up, like he was concentrating very hard. He wondered if Dean was doing the spell right, because Neville felt nothing. Suddenly Dean started laughing.  
  
Neville looked around the room; everyone in the classroom had completely different hair colors. Hermione had dark purple hair. Ron's hair was black and Harry's was light pink. Professor McGonagall smiled, and then waved her wand. A dozen or so mirrors appeared on the wall. Everyone rushed to see themselves.  
  
Neville laughed when he saw his maroon hair. What was even better was seeing Harry's face when he saw his pink hair. The class was told to switch jumpers and try different colors. Over the next hour, Neville had violet, navy and turquoise colored hair.  
  
"Settle down!" Professor McGonagall scolded. The class went back to their seats. "Now we are going to try again using real hair colors." She started passing out parchments that seemed to have real hair attached.  
  
"Real colors are harder to duplicate than colors from the rainbow," she said.  
  
Neville looked at the sheet he had been given. "Begin," the professor told the class.  
  
He pointed his wand again at Dean and said the incantation. "_Capillago Secus_," Neville said forcefully. After almost two minutes of concentration, Dean's hair transformed to a bleach blond color.  
  
"Wicked," Neville said and waited patiently for Dean to do the spell on him. Dean said the incantation, and again, Neville felt nothing. After a few minutes, Dean said, "I give up. I only was able to change half your hair."  
  
The class started crowding around the mirrors again. Half of Neville's hair was still Maroon, while the other half was a very bright red, even brighter than Ron's hair.  
  
They spent the rest of class practicing. "Next lesson, we will work on changing your skin color," Professor McGonagall said. "Homework is a foot on the history of hair changing spells. Dismissed."  
  
Neville started putting his books away, grateful that it was already time for lunch.  
  
"Mister Longbottom, I'd like a word with you," Professor McGonagall called out.  
  
Neville closed his eyes. He couldn't imagine what he had done wrong this time.  
  
He stood up from his desk and walked to the front of the classroom. Professor McGonagall looked down at him seriously. "I had a discussion with Miss Lovegood yesterday," she started. Neville's stomach twisted. Had he upset Luna in some way? Why was she talking to Professor McGonagall about him?  
  
"She asked me not to bring her name into the discussion, but I can see no other way. She told me that you read to her and you seemed to have a difficult time reading aloud," Professor McGonagall said, almost kindly.  
  
"I was nervous," Neville stammered, feeling incredibly embarrassed.  
  
"Please read this aloud, Longbottom," Professor McGonagall said, handing him a piece of parchment.  
  
Neville looked at the parchment. "The Hogwarts' ceiling, I mean enchanted ceiling, is celebrated...one of the most celebrated ceilings in Britain. It bewitched, is bewitched to look like sky, I mean the sky..." Neville looked at Professor McGonagall miserably.  
  
"Drink this, Longbottom," Professor McGonagall gave him a small light blue vial. Neville took it hesitantly. "For goodness' sake, Neville. I haven't given you poison. Drink."  
  
Neville quickly drank the potion. It tasted fairly awful. "Now try reading the parchment again," she told him.  
  
"The Hogwarts enchanted ceiling is one of the most celebrated ceilings in Britain. It is bewitched to look like the sky, or any type of weather the Headmaster of Hogwarts chooses," Neville read out loud, not stumbling on a single word.  
  
"How did I do that?" Neville asked.  
  
Professor McGonagall looked upset with herself. "Since the potion helped, that means you have a condition called dyslexia, Longbottom. I should have realized it before your sixth year," she said sadly.  
  
"I'm dyslexic?" Neville asked. He didn't really know anything about it, other than it was a condition that affected reading.  
  
"Yes. When you read, does it seem like the words get mixed up?" she asked.  
  
"All the time," Neville admitted, "I just thought I was trying to read too fast."  
  
She shook her head. She handed Neville a flask. "This potion can help for now. I'd like you to get a tutor, who can help you relearn how to read, so that you don't have to rely on the potion," she said, "The potion lasts about twenty-four hours. It's best to take one-fourth a cup when you wake up. When you run out, ask Professor Snape for more. He makes this potion for several students."  
  
Everything sounded great until she reached the Professor Snape part. "Can't I get this somewhere else?" he pleaded.  
  
"Professor Snape is the only one allowed to hand the potion out. We try to regulate it. Simply ask him for the Relectum Potion," Professor McGonagall told him. She must have seen his defeated face, and then added, "Longbottom?"  
  
"Yes, Professor?" Neville sighed.  
  
"If he gives you any trouble, come directly to me."  
  
-------------------------  
  
Neville almost ran out of the classroom. He walked briskly into the boy's bathroom on the first floor and into a stall. Sitting down on the toilet, he took out his Potions book. He couldn't believe it. He thought it was just a fluke, but the words were making sense! The instructions looked easy to follow, not jumbled up like normal.  
  
He had to find Luna.  
  
Neville was so excited that he ran straight into the bathroom stall door without opening it first. Rubbing his nose, he opened up the door. Once back into the hallway, he looked around wildly for her.  
  
He went into the Great Hall, still searching. She wasn't at the Ravenclaw table. Disappointed, he went to sit down to eat some dinner.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, she entered the Great Hall. Neville finished his cabbage quickly and stood up. She had already sat down at the end of the table by then. He stood across from her. Luna was staring resolutely at her plate. He had to clear his throat before she looked up and saw him. Neville's heart gave a little jump; he thought she looked happy to see him.  
  
"Can I sit down?" he asked.  
  
"May I sit down, Neville," she corrected dreamily.  
  
"Oh," Neville said, embarrassed. "May I sit down?"  
  
She smiled at him, and Neville quickly sat down. "I talked to Professor McGonagall today," he started.  
  
Luna shifted in her seat. "I expect you speak to Professor McGonagall quite a lot. You are a student of hers."  
  
Neville didn't want to beat around the bush. He wanted to tell Luna how thankful he was. "Thank you," he said quietly.  
  
"What did I do to deserve thanks?" she asked serenely.  
  
"I know you spoke to her. Professor McGonagall said you asked her not to bring you into it, but she did anyways. Thank you. She gave me a potion, and I could read normally. I don't know how to thank you," he said.  
  
Luna nodded. Neville could tell she was embarrassed, so he decided to drop the subject. He would have to find another way to thank her.  
  
"Oh, and thanks for the owl reminder," Neville grinned at Luna, "I had forgotten."  
  
Luna rested her chin in her hand. "I'm glad. Not glad that you forgot, but glad that it helped. I was afraid you'd be insulted."  
  
Neville gave a half laugh. "Hardly. That was better than a rememberall," he joked.  
  
Luna's eyes grew wide. "You have a rememberall?" she asked.  
  
Neville nodded. "Yep, but I forgot it on my nightstand this morning."  
  
"Neville, those are bad for your health!" she told him. "The Ministry did a study and they found out that rememberalls can cause seizures! The company that make rememberalls, Fountain Creations, paid Fudge a huge sum of money to keep it quiet. Oh, Neville, please be careful!" Luna cried.  
  
It took all of Neville's self control not to laugh. He really didn't want to hurt her feelings. Luckily, not a peep came out. "Thanks for the warning," he said after a minute.  
  
Luna nodded peacefully, as if her job had been accomplished.  
  
-------------------------  
  
**A/N – Capillago Secus: Capillago – Hair, Secus – Different  
  
Relectum – To Read Again, Reread**


	8. The DA

**Chapter Eight – The D.A.**  
  
Neville went into his next Potions class in high form. He had taken the Relectum Potion in the morning. Neville realized that this was the first time that he felt happy to go to a Potions Class in all his time at Hogwarts.  
  
This time, when Professor Snape flicked his wand and the words appeared on the blackboard, Neville looked right at them, instead of averting his eyes. Today they were working on the Laterum Potion, a potion that causes the taker to speak in nothing but lies.  
  
_Take three drops of Manticore blood and put in cauldron  
  
Four cups of Beetle juice, stir counter clock seventeen times, then add three more drops of Manticore blood_  
  
Neville couldn't believe it. The instructions were making sense! He eagerly attacked his potion. An hour later, he was done. The potion wasn't quite like Hermione's, which was a light brown. His was more of a dark tan. But Neville knew it was better than he had done in a long time. Even Hermione gave him a discreet thumbs up.  
  
"Who is willing to test out their potion?" Professor Snape asked lazily. No one raised their hand.  
  
"Hmm..." Neville squirmed uncomfortably in his seat as Professor Snape gazed at him. "Yes, you'll do. Longbottom, we'll try your potion."  
  
Neville gulped loudly. Slowly he stood up, holding the vial of his potion.  
  
"Hurry up, Longbottom," Professor Snape sneered.  
  
Neville handed Professor Snape his potion as he reached the front of the classroom. The Professor motioned for him to sit on a stool, facing the rest of the class. Professor Snape then poured some of the potion into another glass.  
  
"Drink," Professor Snape ordered, as he handed the glass to Neville.  
  
Neville took a tiny sip, and then finished the rest in one gulp.  
  
"This potion is unlike the Certus potion. The drinker is required to answer every question that is asked," Professor Snape said.  
  
Neville closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn't make too big of a fool of himself.  
  
"What is your favorite class?" Professor Snape asked.  
  
Neville felt a tingling over his mouth. Then without hesitating, he said, "Potions." The rest of the class burst out into laughter, as Professor Snape scowled.  
  
"Who's your closest friend?"  
  
"Draco Malfoy," Neville couldn't believe that these words were coming out of his mouth. He obviously had made the potion right for once.  
  
"Have you ever snuck out of bed after curfew?"  
  
"No," Neville had snuck out once, first year. He shuddered remembering that because of the good deed he tried to perform, he had to go into the forbidden forest.  
  
Neville looked at Professor Snape; he had a look on his face he didn't like.  
  
"Do you have a crush on anyone?"  
  
"No," the Slytherins in the room started laughing, knowing that Neville did indeed have a crush on someone.  
  
"Who'd want to date that tub of lard?" he heard Pansy Parkinson whisper. Neville's good spirits dropped. He had always been chubby, but had toned down in the last few years. Now all he had was his slightly round face and a bit of a belly.  
  
"What house is she..." the bell rang, cutting Professor Snape off. "Write a roll of parchment on the differences between truth and lie potions," he told the class. "Oh, and Longbottom?"  
  
"Yes, sir?" Neville asked meekly.  
  
"You'll find I didn't regulate the portion out very well. I think I gave you enough for six hours. Have a good day," the professor said, then turned and walked to his office, leaving Neville sitting there with his mouth wide open.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Six hours. Six hours of only telling lies. What a nightmare. Neville looked at the pocket watch that his grandmother had given his so many years ago. It was the one thing Neville didn't seem to lose, and for very good reason. It was his father's watch when he had been at Hogwarts. Six hours from now would be five thirty at night. He had two classes between now and then. He would just have to lay low, not speak to anyone and hope no teacher called on him.  
  
He got through Care of Magical Creatures with no problem. They were studying Nogtails, which preferred silence. Right before he was going to head into his Muggle Studies classroom he heard, "Neville Longbottom."  
  
Neville closed his eyes, it was the one person he didn't want to see until the potion wore off. Luna. He turned around. "Hi Luna," he said.  
  
"Hello, Neville. Are you having a good day?" she asked serenely.  
  
"Yep. I'm having a great day," Neville muttered.  
  
"That's good," Luna looked down at her feet. "Would you like to eat dinner together tonight?" she asked shyly.  
  
"No." Neville wanted to pound the wall with frustration.  
  
"Oh, okay. I just thought..." her voice trailed off.  
  
Neville looked at her face and had never been more miserable.  
  
"Well, I better get going," she wouldn't look at him. "Good-bye," she said softly.  
  
He didn't know how he got through the rest of his class.  
  
-------------------------  
  
"Ask me a question!" Neville ordered Harry the second his pocket watch said five thirty.  
  
"Huh?" Harry asked.  
  
"Ask me a question I wouldn't lie to!" Neville barked.  
  
Harry looked perplexed and shrugged. "Do you love Snape?"  
  
"No!" Neville cried. The potion had finally worn off.  
  
Neville walked as fast as he could into the Great Hall. Luna was sitting on the furthest end of the Hall, reading a book. Neville could barely see her. He walked down and sat across from her.  
  
She didn't look up from the book. "I thought you said you didn't want to have dinner with me," she said sadly.  
  
"Luna, I had Potions this morning. I had to drink a Laterum Potion. Do you know what that is?" he asked.  
  
"A potion that make the drinker tell lies," she said flatly, still not looking up.  
  
"I was still under the effects when I talked to you," he pleaded.  
  
Luna sat still for a moment. She then looked up at him and grinned. "Does that mean not having a good day?" she teased.  
  
Neville sighed a breath of relief and started to fill his plate with potatoes.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Neville was standing next to Luna at the first DA meeting of the year. Neville was surprised as anyone when Professor Dumbledore said that he would like these meetings to continue. Even Professor Binns-Morgan, the History of Magic Professor's great granddaughter, who was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, wanted to be involved.  
  
Professor Binns-Morgan was talking quietly to Harry in the corner. The meeting had not actually started yet, but Neville had decided to get there early. Neville liked the new Professor. She was quite tall, with brown curly hair. One day after class, she over heard Harry, Ron and Neville complaining about her great grandfather. She happily joined in the complaining, saying he had been like that when she went to Hogwarts too.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, the room of requirement was packed. Neville was dismayed to see that Draco Malfoy was there, along with his gang.  
  
Harry stood at the front of the room. "Since we had the summer off, we're going to refresh our memories. Pair up and work on disarming each other."  
  
Luna looked at him and Neville walked a few feet away from her. "You first," she said.  
  
Neville looked around the room; already people were disarming each other.  
  
_"Expelliarmus!"_ Neville cried. Three seconds later, Luna's wand was in his hand. Neville looked at it for a moment, dazed. It had never been that easy for him to disarm someone before. He put the two wands side by side for a moment. His was at least three inches longer than hers. Her wand was very dark, almost black. He looked up only when Luna cleared her throat.  
  
"Sorry!" he grinned at her as he tossed her wand back.  
  
_"Expelliarmus!"_ she cried. Neville tried blocking the spell, but she was too fast. She had his wand.  
  
"You were close," Professor Binns-Morgan said in her slight Irish accent. "Try it again, will you?" she asked.  
  
_"Expelliarmus!"_ Luna cried again.  
  
"There!" Professor Binns-Morgan said happily. "See how she moved her elbow out slightly before she said the incantation? That should give you just enough time to shield yourself. Try again."  
  
Luna threw him his wand. She cried the spell one last time. But this time, Neville was ready; he had seen Luna give herself away with her arm movement. _"Protego!"_ he cried, and he had protected himself from the spell.  
  
"Good job," Professor Binns-Morgan said, moving on to the next pair.  
  
The next hour they worked on shield charms and stunning. Neville felt awful about stunning Luna, but she seemed more than happy to stun him. Then Professor Binns-Morgan announced that it was time for everyone to go back to their common rooms.  
  
Neville had just managed to work up the courage to ask if he could walk Luna to her room, when he heard Harry call him.  
  
"Goodnight, Neville Longbottom," Luna said softly as she left the room. Neville swore softly under his breath. Harry had better stopped him for a good reason.  
  
Everyone had left the room except Harry and Ron. Neville noticed that Harry was looking nervous about something.  
  
"What's up?" Neville asked.  
  
"I have a favor to ask," Harry started, looking down at his feet.  
  
"Is everything okay?" Neville asked nervously.  
  
"Last year, I started learning Occlumency," Harry said. "Do you know what that is?"  
  
Neville shrugged. "Sure I've heard of it."  
  
"It's supposed to help stop Voldemort from entering my dreams," Harry said, as Neville shuddered from hearing you-know-who's name.  
  
"Is it working?" Neville asked interestedly.  
  
"Kinda," Harry replied. "Here's the thing Neville. I want to learn Legilimency. And I need someone to practice on."  
  
Neville looked at Harry and then at Ron. "Well, isn't Ron a better..." he said.  
  
Harry cut him off. "I tried with Ron. I know him too well. I need some one who I'm comfortable with, but don't know like the back of my hand," he looked back down at his feet. "Will you help me?"  
  
Neville pondered the request for a moment. He rather liked the idea that he could help Harry, even in a small way.  
  
"Will it hurt?" Neville asked.  
  
Harry grinned. "Only if I teach you Occlumency."  
  
"When do you want to start?" Neville asked.  
  
"Right now, if you don't mind. Ron will be here in case anything happens," Harry said.  
  
"Yeah, don't worry Neville, if Harry flips his lid, I'll protect you," Ron laughed.  
  
"Thanks," Neville said dryly. He looked at Harry. "What do I need to do?"  
  
"Just stand there," Harry said. "If you were going to block my attempt, you could use your wand against me."  
  
"But that would defeat the point of Harry practicing Legilimency," Ron joked.  
  
Neville put his wand in his robe. "I'm ready," he said confidently.  
  
_"Legilimens!"_ Harry cried.  
  
Neville was eleven. The sorting hat had just placed him in Gryffindor. Excited, he ran off to the table still wearing the hat...He was six, and asking his grandmother why his parents couldn't come home with them...Getting up the nerve to ask Hermione to the ball, only to have her turn him down...He was eight, the sensation of being pushed off the pier, then almost being suffocated under the water...  
  
Someone was shaking him. Neville brought himself into reality and saw that Ron had his hands on his shoulders. Harry was clutching his side, panting. Neville wiped the sweat off his forehead, his hands shaking.  
  
"You allright, mate?" Harry asked slowly.  
  
Neville nodded. "You?" he asked.  
  
"I'm fine. Your uncle really pushed you off a pier?" Harry said, hands on his knees.  
  
"His way of showing he cares," Neville joked. It was a strange sensation, having his mind broken into. Half of the memories he had forgotten about. Neville felt slightly light headed. He had forgotten how awful he felt when Hermione turned him down. He didn't quite like that Harry now knew that as well.  
  
"Did you see more memories than that one?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yes, I saw lots. Why?" Neville asked.  
  
"That's the only one I saw," Harry said, finally standing straight up.  
  
"Really?" Neville asked. He felt quite better that Harry hadn't seen the Hermione memory.  
  
"Not bad for the first time," Ron said cheerfully. "You should have seen him with me, Neville. He couldn't find a single bloody memory of mine."  
  
"Can we try this again sometime?" Harry asked hopefully.  
  
Neville thought about it for a moment. "Sure," he said finally, "Just not tonight."  
  
"Yeah, one more time and Harry might just go mental," Ron laughed.  
  
Harry silenced him with a look.  
  
-------------------------  
  
**A/N – Latere: to lurk, to lie hidden**


	9. The Halloween Ball

**Chapter Nine – The Halloween Ball**  
  
Before Neville knew it, September was over. His life had a very nice pattern to it now. For the first time in his life, Neville was able to hold his head up in class. He had been more shocked than anyone, one day in Charms when Professor Flitwick asked a question and Neville raised his hand before Hermione.  
  
Luna and Neville ate dinner together at least twice a week, sometimes more. Several times Neville almost had the nerve to say something, to tell her his feelings, but he never could find the courage.  
  
It was the first week of October and Neville was in Transfiguration when Professor McGonagall made an announcement. The class had started working on changing skin colors. They started easy, making the skin just a little lighter or darker. Now they were trying to change the color completely. Neville was very proud when he was able to make Dean Thomas even paler than Ron was.  
  
"Class, before I dismiss you, I have an announcement to make. The Seventh Years have decided to host a Halloween Ball this year. It will be Fourth Years and above will be able to attend, though you may invite someone from a lower year. I hope you all decide to attend," she said sternly.  
  
Neville gulped. A ball? This was the perfect opportunity to tell Luna how he felt. All he had to do was ask her to the ball. Yeah, he told himself, like that would be easy.  
  
-------------------------  
  
That evening, Neville was in the boys' dorm with Harry and Ron. Ever since Professor McGonagall's announcement, the only thing the students were talking about was the ball.  
  
"I don't know if I can do it, mate," Ron said miserably.  
  
"Do what?" Neville asked.  
  
"Ask her. I have to ask her, and soon. I don't know how!" Ron sighed.  
  
Neville was glad to know that other people were having the same problem he was. He didn't even ask Ron who he was talking about. Everyone seemed to realize that Ron had a crush on Hermione except for Hermione herself.  
  
"I know what you mean," Neville replied.  
  
"Who are you going to ask?" Harry asked. "Luna?"  
  
Neville turned bright red. "Maybe," he said, barely audible.  
  
"You are, aren't you?" Ron asked.  
  
Neville nodded. "Who are you going to ask Harry?" he asked, trying to change the subject from himself.  
  
Harry shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe Lavender? That's all that's left in Gryffindor. I can't ask Parvati again," he said smiling. "Or maybe someone will ask me, and I won't have to worry."  
  
Neville thought about how wonderful that would be. If only Luna would ask him to the ball, instead of him having to ask her. He would be a very happy person indeed.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Two weeks passed, and Neville hadn't worked up the courage. Every time he saw Luna, he wanted to ask her. But he kept talking about other things, or if the subject came up when they were in a group, he quickly started talking about something else.  
  
One morning, the day of the first quidditch match of the year (Gryffindor v. Hufflepuff), Luna joined the Gryffindor table for breakfast. She was hard to miss, wearing that huge hat of hers that supported the Gryffindor team. Neville wanted to laugh, but didn't. Neville and Dean had painted their faces Red and Gold to support the team. They joked and called themselves the left-overs, since they were the only two Gryffindor Sixth Years boys not on the team.  
  
Luna sat down, very regally, across from Neville. He was amazed that she was able to keep the hat up on her head. She nodded at Harry, Ron and Ginny who were all sitting together.  
  
"I'm sure you'll do wonderfully today, Ronald, Ginerva and Harold," she said in a sing-song voice.  
  
"Erm...it's just Harry," Harry said.  
  
"Pardon?" Luna asked.  
  
"My name isn't Harold. It's just Harry," he repeated.  
  
"Oh," she said dreamily, "I guess that would be too much of a coinedence, you and Ronald both having names that end in 'ld.'"  
  
"LD?" Ronald asked, jaw open.  
  
"Yes, Ronald. I thought it was strange. But if your name is really just Harry..." she trailed off, shrugging her shoulders.  
  
"Yeah, Harry. Transfigure your hair red and we could be twins," Ron joked.  
  
Luna started laughing hysterically. "Twins! You don't even look alike!" She was laughing so hard that her hat fell right off her head and knocked over a first year.  
  
Still laughing, she picked up her hat (which started roaring) and said, "Sorry!" to the little first year that was on the floor. She put the hat on her head, realized she wasn't done laughing yet and put the hat right on the table.  
  
Neville stared at her in disbelief. Ron had made a joke that wasn't remotely funny. Yet here she was, laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world. He remembered overhearing two girls giggling about boys they liked in the library. The girls said they always laughed at the boy's they liked jokes.  
  
Neville was crushed. Did Luna like Ron? She kept looking at Ron and shaking her head, smiling. Just then the team stood up to go to the changing room. Neville finished his breakfast in silence.  
  
-------------------------  
  
The game went very well. Harry caught the snitch in twenty minutes. Neville had been worried that not playing for so long would make him rusty. He was very pleased to be wrong. Luna had sat right next to him during the match. Neither talked much, but concentrated on the match.  
  
They were walking down the bleacher steps when Luna turned around suddenly and faced Neville, who was two steps behind her. She turned so quickly that her hat almost fell off her head.  
  
"Should we go to the Halloween Ball together, do you think?" she asked.  
  
"The Ball?" Neville asked, feeling incredibly stupid.  
  
Luna nodded and stepped up one step. Neville realized how close they were. He wanted to see her face, but the hat was covering up her eyes.  
  
"Wouldn't you like to go?" she asked.  
  
"Well...I..." Neville started.  
  
"You haven't already asked someone, have you?" Luna asked.  
  
Neville shook his head, then realized she couldn't possibly see his face because of the hat, said, "No, I haven't."  
  
"Good! Then let's go together," she said simply.  
  
Neville sighed a breath of relief. "Sure," he said, scarcely believing this was happening. "I'm not the greatest dancer," he added.  
  
"That's fine," she said cheerfully, turning around and walking down the steps. "I don't like dancing all that much!"  
  
-------------------------  
  
How Neville made it to Halloween, he didn't know. Finally, the long awaited night arrived, and the sixth year boys were getting ready for the Ball in their dorm room.  
  
"Thank goodness it's not a costume party," Seamus muttered.  
  
"I can't believe you're going with Hermione," Dean said.  
  
Ron shook his head. "I know, it doesn't seem real," he said, putting on his shoes.  
  
"Are you two..." Seamus started.  
  
"No," Ron shook his head sadly.  
  
Neville put on his dress robe. He liked the robe. It was a navy blue with a high collar. He didn't particularly like the collar though. It seemed to be a little too tight.  
  
"Luna's at the table all the time, are you two..." Seamus now was talking to Neville.  
  
"Same answer as Ron," Neville said.  
  
"What's wrong with us?" Seamus asked. "Here we are, good looking and smart Gryffindor men and none of us can get a date!" Harry and Seamus weren't able to find dates for the ball and were going stag.  
  
"Speak for yourself, mate," Dean said loudly, "I still have Ginny."  
  
Ron stood up. "You better be treating her well," he said menancingly.  
  
"I treat her just fine. I haven't heard any complaints," Dean said, winking at Seamus. Luckily for Dean, Ron missed the wink.  
  
"How long have you been with her now?" Neville asked.  
  
"Almost six months," Dean said proudly.  
  
"Well, I'm ready as I'll ever be," Harry announced, jumping off of his bed. Neville followed him and Ron out of the room. Hermione was already in the common room. Even Neville's jaw dropped when they saw her.  
  
Hermione was wearing a dress robe that looked like it was made out of lace. The robe was dark blue, and underneath, she wore a long sky blue dress. Her hair was very sleek and shiny, falling around her shoulders. She looked wonderful.  
  
She cheeks turned red when she saw Ron. "Shall we?" she asked.  
  
Ron held out his arm, which Hermione hestinantly took. "Let's go," Ron gulped. Neville started after them, but Harry flung out his arm to stop him.  
  
"Let them go ahead of us," he said to Neville quietly.  
  
A few minutes later, they left the common room. When they reached the corridor outside the Great Hall, Neville started looking around for Luna. A minute later, he heard her say, "Neville Longbottom," behind him.  
  
Neville turned around slowly. He wanted to pinch himself when he saw her.  
  
Luna decided against wearing a dress robe. She wore a sleeveless silvery dress that fell right above her knees. The dress seemed to glitter and sparkle when she moved. Her hair was up in elaborate twists and curls. She had butterfly pins in her hair, which she must have bewitched, because they were flapping their wings. The only makeup she wore was some glitter around her eyes, which made her eyes look even bigger and like they were made of pure silver.  
  
The moment he saw her, Neville knew he had to tell her how he felt tonight.  
  
---------  
  
There wasn't a live band tonight, but a DJ in the corner. A fast, lively tune was on when they entered the Great Hall. Several people turned and stared at Luna as they walked by. Neville debated offering his arm to her like Ron had done for Hermione.  
  
Neville cleared his throat. "You look really nice tonight, Luna," he said.  
  
"What?" she asked. The music was very loud.  
  
He raised his voice. "You look really nice!" he shouted.  
  
"Thank you!" she shouted back. "The music's loud!"  
  
"What?" he asked, not understanding what she just said.  
  
"The music's loud!" she yelled.  
  
"Right!"  
  
Someone else must have complained about the music, because just then it was much quieter.  
  
"Better," she said, looking at him.  
  
For the first hour or so, neither one of them made a move to go on the dance floor. The only time Neville left her side was to get two glasses of punch. He brought them back to the table and sat down.  
  
Luna took a small sip, while Neville, being thirsty and nervous, drank the whole glass in one gulp. "It's spiked," Luna said softly.  
  
"No way," Neville said.  
  
"It is. I shouldn't drink alcohol. I can taste it in the punch," she said, pushing the cup away from her.  
  
Neville looked at his empty glass. He had never had any alcohol before, only the occasional butterbeer, which didn't count. "Would you like something else?" he asked.  
  
Luna smiled at him. "I'm fine," she said.  
  
They sat in silence for a bit. Neville thought he might feel a little light-headed, but it could just be his imagination. Then a slow number came on. Neville closed his eyes, willing himself the courage. He stood up and faced Luna.  
  
"Would you like to dance?" he asked.  
  
Luna didn't answer, but instead stood up and took his hand. Together, they made their way onto the dance floor. The first time they danced, Neville put his hand on her back and clasped her other hand, like he had practiced once with his grandmother. Luna had her hand on his shoulder. He only stepped on her foot twice. Neville wished the song would never end.  
  
But it did end, and another fast song came on. Holding hands, they went back to their table. Ginny and Dean were sitting there, neither one looking very happy. Neville didn't want to ask.  
  
Luna and Neville starting talking about all sorts of things. If Neville had to tell you what they were, he probably couldn't even remember half. He just knew that he was very, very happy.  
  
When there was only about an hour left to the dance, another slow song came on. Neville didn't even have to ask this time. The moment the song started, they were both on their feet.  
  
This time, Neville got the nerve to put both hands around Luna's waist and held her close to him. It might have something to do with the fact that he had another glass of punch, having forgotten it was spiked.  
  
Luna rested her head against his shoulder. Neville was frantically trying to figure out how to tell her how he felt. He didn't want it to be here, in the Great Hall, with a lot of students around. He wanted to it to be special.  
  
It turned out he didn't have to figure anything out at all. When the song was done, Luna looked up at him and said, "Would you mind if we left? I'm feeling really crowded in here."  
  
Neville nodded. "That's fine," he said, feeling slightly breathless.  
  
Together, they walked out of the Great Hall, bodies almost touching but not quite.  
  
Neville gathered up all the Gryffindor in him and asked, "Would you like to go somewhere to talk?"  
  
Luna smiled, and Neville felt his knees go weak.  
  
"We could go to the Greenhouses, I have the password," he said quietly.  
  
"That would be nice," Luna said.  
  
They walked towards the Greenhouses. Neville decided he was ready to have the conversation that would hopefully change the course of his life.  
  
-------------------------  
  
**A/N – I hope this chapter didn't seem to out of place. Tragedy struck this week when my notebook, that has all my notes for all of my fanfics, was lost. I was almost in tears; it had all my notes for every one of my stories. I'm slowly trying to recreate it, but I just know some of my ideas are going to be lost. That's my sob story for the week. : (  
  
Also, I gave a little PoA movie tribute in this chapter. Did you find it?**


	10. The Greenhouse

**Chapter Ten – The Greenhouse  
**  
Neville was worried. His heart was beating incredibly loud. He was sure that Luna could hear his heartbeat. He knew any second she would look at him and say, "What was I thinking?"  
  
He wished they could walk faster. Heck, he wished they could run to the Greenhouse. He looked down at Luna's feet. She was wearing some sort of flip-flop shoe. Surely she could run in those.  
  
They walked to the Greenhouse in silence. Why couldn't he think of something funny to say? He should try to make her laugh. No, that's not right. He should say something sweet and romantic. Girls liked those kind of things. But Luna wasn't like any other girl he'd known in his entire life.  
  
Neville took a deep breath when they reached the Greenhouse at last. "Fern," he said softly. The doors parted, and Neville held one open for Luna. She seemed to glide right inside. He could watch her walk like that forever.  
  
The lights were dim, letting the plants rest for the night. Through the glass, they could see the stars overhead. Luna sat herself on a small stool, right next to Neville's workstation.  
  
"Can I show you something?" he asked shyly.  
  
"Anything, Neville Longbottom," she said softly, looking up at him, causing him to gulp.  
  
Neville walked over to his workstation. "The day Professor McGonagall gave me the reading potion I started a project," Neville said, feeling more confident now that he was talking about plants.  
  
Luna turned her head and looked at his station. "What kind of project?"  
  
"A project for you," Neville said.  
  
"Me?" Luna asked, eyes widening in surprise.  
  
Neville nodded. "You didn't seem to want to talk about it. So I decided to make something for you to thank you."  
  
"Oh, you didn't have to do that," Luna started.  
  
"I wanted to," Neville told her.  
  
"What is it?" she asked interestedly.  
  
Neville took a deep breath. "I know you like to wear fruits and vegetables as jewelry," Neville said. Luna nodded encouragingly. "So I took the two you wear the most, and cross-bred them."  
  
Luna looked a little confused. Neville continued. "I took a radish and a turnip, and bred them." He took his wand out of his dress robe and tapped it on a root. He picked up a small vegetable that was essentially a turnip, but rounder and the color of a radish.  
  
Luna took the vegetable from his hand happily. "This is wonderful!" she cried. "You did this for me?"  
  
Neville nodded, feeling the warmth where their fingers just touched. "I can't decide whether to call it a Radnip or a Turnish," he said.  
  
"I like Turnish," she told him.  
  
"Turnish it is," he said, grinning.  
  
"Thank you very much," she said softly. "I think this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."  
  
"They're not quite ready yet," Neville said.  
  
"Will you let me know when they are?" she asked excitedly.  
  
"Of course," Neville said, tugging at the collar of his dress robe, which was much too tight now.  
  
Luna walked over to him. "You've been tugging at the collar all night," she giggled. She unclasped the top clasp, and Neville took a breath, feeling much better. "You're among friends now. You don't have to be so formal."  
  
The Greenhouse was a little muggy, so Neville decided to go one step further and take his dress robe off, leaving him in his dress shirt and slacks.  
  
"Luna?" Neville asked suddenly.  
  
"Yes, Neville Longbottom?" Luna asked, looking up at him.  
  
Neville gulped. "I have something to tell you, Luna. But I'm not sure how to say it."  
  
Luna moved over a few steps so that she was right across from him. Slowly, she took his hands in her own. "Sometimes, if you don't know what to say, it's best to show the person what you mean," she said, smiling.  
  
Neville thought about that for a moment, and decided to show her. He took a step forward, expecting Luna to flinch, but she stood her ground and looked at him. Neville wrapped his arms around her small frame and bent his head down to kiss her.  
  
Instead of reaching her lips, Neville's nose collided right into Luna's nose. Neville was mortified, but felt a little better when Luna simply giggled. So Neville decided to try again. This time, he kissed her.  
  
He could feel Luna's arms go around his waist as she kissed him back. He opened his mouth slightly, and felt how wonderfully warm her lips felt next to his own. Then they broke apart.  
  
Neville had never really kissed a girl before. After the Yule Ball, Ginny had given him a quick peck on the lips, but that was nothing compared to this. He opened his eyes, afraid that this had been a figment of his imagination. But Luna was still there, smiling at him, looking at him like he was the only man in the world.  
  
"That was really nice," Luna said shyly.  
  
"I really like you, Luna," Neville blurted out.  
  
Luna threw her arms around him. "I really like you too, Neville," she whispered in his ear.  
  
Neville couldn't think of anything to say, so he just held her to him, stroking her hair. She was so tiny, he felt like he could almost snap her in two if he held her too tight.  
  
Luna ran a finger down Neville's back, almost causing him to shiver, but oh wow, that felt good. "So will you be my boyfriend?" she asked dreamily.  
  
Neville decided not to tell her, but to show her by bringing her in for another kiss.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Neville had a problem. He had just had the most wonderful night of his life. He was tired and ready to go to sleep. But he was on one side of Fat Lady's portrait, and the common room was on the other side.  
  
And Neville couldn't remember the password.  
  
"Please let me in?" Neville begged.  
  
"Not without the password," she said, clearly bored.  
  
"You know who I am!" Neville cried.  
  
"Do I? Do I?" the fat lady said. "What if you've drunk some polyjuice potion? What if you're He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named in disguise?"  
  
"Me?" Neville squeaked.  
  
"These are dangerous times, my boy. I for one am not going to bend the rules for anyone. No password, no entry," she said, rather proud of herself for that speech.  
  
"Fine!" Neville threw up his hands in defeat. He sat down, cross-legged on the floor and hoped that someone would be coming in or out soon.  
  
"So did you have a nice time at the Ball?" the fat lady asked sweetly.  
  
Neville blushed, thinking about the kisses he shared with Luna that evening. "Yes," he said, burying his head in his hands, so she wouldn't see how red he had turned.  
  
About ten minutes later, Seamus walked up the stairs. "What the bloody hell are you doing out here, Neville?" Seamus said good-naturedly.  
  
Neville stood up, relieved that someone could finally let him in. "What about you?" Neville grinned.  
  
"I had a wonderful evening with Hannah Abbott, and a gentleman always escorts the lady home," Seamus said.  
  
"I forgot the password," Neville said.  
  
Seamus raised his eyebrows, "Enjoy the punch?"  
  
Neville groaned. "I should have known that was you."  
  
"So mate, I saw you leave early with Luna. Are you two..." Seamus trailed off.  
  
"Yes," Neville said proudly  
  
-------------------------  
  
"You'll be fine on your own," Luna said serenely, stroking his hand. It was the Monday after the Ball. Neville still felt like he was in a dream. They spent all of Sunday together, doing homework, talking and enjoying the occasional kiss.  
  
"I just want the moral support, I guess," Neville said softly.  
  
"Then I'll come with you," Luna said simply, standing up from the Ravenclaw table. It was the lunch hour, and Neville had finally run out of the Relectum Potion. He was working up the courage to ask Professor Snape for more.  
  
"I know he's going to laugh at me when I ask for it," Neville said gloomily.  
  
"If he does, I'll say something to him," Luna said, walking towards the door. Neville and Luna were halfway towards the dungeon when he realized that she had taken his hand. It had been so subtle, he hadn't even realized it.  
  
He gave her hand a slight squeeze when they reached the door of the potions classroom. He knocked, and stepped inside.  
  
Professor Snape was standing over a cauldron, stirring furiously.  
  
"One moment, Longbottom," he said lazily. A minute later, he waved his wand at the cauldron and poof of smoke appeared. Neville took a tiny step towards the desk.  
  
"Sir?" Neville asked timidly, "Professor McGonagall gave me some Relectum Potion six weeks ago. She said to ask you for more when I ran out."  
  
Professor Snape arched an eyebrow. "Relectum Potion?" he asked.  
  
"Y-Yes, sir," Neville said.  
  
"That would explain your improvement this term, Longbottom. The potion's in my office. Wait here," he said, turning quickly towards his office.  
  
Luna put her hand on Neville's cheek. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" she asked, smiling.  
  
Neville took her hand. "No, I guess not," he said grinning back at her. Luna had the most wonderful hands; they were so tiny and soft.  
  
They heard Professor Snape enter the classroom again and they both jumped. "Save that behavior for the common room," he growled as he handed Neville a flask. "Five points from Gryffindor and five from Ravenclaw."  
  
"Yes, sir," they said together at the same time.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Neville didn't realize it at the time, but he and Luna made an usual pair. After the first day they showed up in the Great Hall holding hands, students from all houses gossiped only like Hogwarts students could. By the end of the week, Neville heard that he was only an experiment for Luna, something to write about in the Quibbler. Neville knew some sort of secret about Luna, and was forcing her to date him. Finally, the one that made Neville blush, was they had been really dating for the last two years, and secretly married over the weekend. No one bothered to notice that Neville was only sixteen and Luna fifteen, therefore it would be illegal for them to marry.  
  
"Why is it so interesting to everyone?" Neville asked, bewildered to a group of Gryffindors in the common room one night.  
  
"It's very simple," Hermione said, looking up from her Ancient Runes textbook. "You and Luna have always been considered a bit different by most people. It's like they don't understand that you can find happiness without being popular."  
  
"Don't let what people say bother you," Ginny said encouragingly. "If it feels right, go for it. If not, well, look at Dean and me." Dean and Ginny had broken up the day after the Ball.  
  
"I just hate people thinking I'm forcing her to date me," Neville said gloomily.  
  
"I don't think anyone really believes that, mate," Ron said. "Remember when Susan Bones dated Morag McDougal from Ravenclaw? Everyone said that she only liked him because he was a good quidditch player. And he wasn't even half as good as Harry."  
  
"Yeah, if she wanted to date only decent blokes on a broom, I'm sure she would have asked me out by now," Harry grinned.  
  
The talking made Neville feel better. He knew he shouldn't let gossip bother him. He knew it wouldn't bother Luna, nothing seemed to faze her. He had asked Luna how she stayed so calm all the time. All she did was say that she would prefer to stay calm than let little problems bother her. That wasn't the answer Neville was looking for.  
  
Suddenly, Harry clutched his forehead. "Damnit," he muttered softly.  
  
At once, the four people surrounding Harry asked, "Are you allright?"  
  
Harry blinked fast for a moment, and then said, "I'm fine. He's happy about something. I just have no idea what."  
  
"You've been practicing Occlumency, haven't you, Harry?" Hermione asked in a hushed voice.  
  
Harry nodded furiously. "If you think I'm ever going to let him put a vision in my head again..." he started, his voice rising.  
  
Ron put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "It's okay, Harry."  
  
Neville was a little lost, listening to the three of them talk. He understood how close Harry, Ron and Hermione where. Neville thought about standing up and giving them their privacy when Harry looked at him.  
  
"Can we work on Legilimency Neville?" Harry asked quietly.  
  
"Now?" Neville stuttered.  
  
"Now," Harry said determinedly, "The sooner I can get into Voldemort's head, the better."

---------------------

**A/N - No notebook yet. (pouts) But I'm v. close to having the story outlined again. Wa-hoo!**


	11. Hogsmeade

**A/N – I forgot to give the answer to the PoA movie tribute last chapter! Oops! Several of you guess correctly. In the movie, Neville and Dean have painted faces and it cracked me up. I could totally see quidditch fanatics doing that!  
  
Chapter Eleven – Hogsmeade**  
  
That night, Harry and Neville worked on Legilimency until just after midnight. Neville was mentally exhausted after the session. A little embarrassed as well, to tell the truth. Harry was getting better. He was starting to be able to look through Neville's mind easily. So easily, that Harry said he might try to teach Neville Occlumency to help him fight it off.  
  
Harry had seen some images that Neville really would have preferred he hadn't. When Neville was five, he had a bed-wetting problem. Harry saw his grandmother yelling at a five-year old Neville who was bawling his eyes out.  
  
Harry saw an eight-year-old Neville hanging outside the third floor window; his Great Uncle Algie holding him by the ankles. Neville relived how terrifying that was, thinking he had no magic, and if he fell, he would die. But then the sudden relief as he bounced through the garden.  
  
Harry also saw Neville's and Luna's first kiss. Not that that wasn't a wonderful memory, Neville just would have preferred if Harry hadn't seen the nose bumping part first.  
  
When Harry was finally spent, Neville was grateful to go upstairs and climb into his warm bed. He spent a few moments practicing what Harry told him to try: clearing his mind of all emotion. Neville quickly realized that it was much easier said than done. After a few minutes, he drifted off to sleep.  
  
_Rodolphus raised his wand to Frank and screamed "Crucio!" Frank fell to the ground, next to his wife. Together they screamed. Bellatrix and Rodolphus yelled "Crucio!" again, and the twitching became more violent._  
  
_Another Death Eater grabbed Bellatrix by the arm. "If you don't stop now, they will not be able to give us any information."  
  
Bellatrix laughed, "I don't think they have anything for us..."_  
  
_The Death Eaters watched for over ten minutes. "They are now in no shape to talk," the Death Eater said, looking at the bodies of the two Aurors._  
  
Neville forced himself to wake up. He sat on the edge of the bed, panting slightly. He had been dreaming of his parents so often lately. He almost wished he could go back to the summer where he only dreamed about the Ministry of Magic.  
  
Quietly, he stood up and went to the water pitcher to get a glass of water. The water felt cool on his throat. More than anything, he wished he could talk to Luna. He knew she would be able to comfort him. But she was far away in the west tower, with the rest of the Ravenclaws.  
  
Neville went back to bed, and nestled himself under the covers. He fell asleep with a smile, remembering that all he wanted over the summer was someone who he could share these things with. He saw Luna's face in front of him and realized that his wish had been granted.  
  
-------------------------  
  
The next morning, Neville looked around frantically for Luna in the Great Hall. He wanted to tell her about these dreams and see what she said. He kept looking, but didn't find her. Neville had noticed that she didn't come down for breakfast sometimes.  
  
He was heading towards the Gryffindor table when someone jumped on his back. "Surprise," Luna whispered in his ear. She stayed on his back, piggyback style. Neville grinned, not caring about what the people around them thought.  
  
"Your chariot awaits, M'lady," Neville joked.  
  
"Yonder, good man. For I smell breakfast, and thee looks mighty hungry," Luna said in a posh upper class voice.  
  
Neville laughed, and walked them down to the end of the Gryffindor table, where they could have some privacy. When they reached the end, Luna jumped off his back and sat down, but not before giving Neville a quick kiss.  
  
Neville blushed; he hadn't seen Luna with this much energy in the morning in...well...ever.  
  
Usually, she was exhausted when she woke up. It was Luna's O.L.W.S. year, and she was determined to get at least nine O.W.L.S. So she stayed up late studying.  
  
She loaded her plate with food, which was also odd. She didn't usually eat much in the morning. Luna took a bite of her pancakes, and looked at his face.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.  
  
"How you know something's wrong?" he asked. How did she know?  
  
"I know your face, silly. What's wrong?" she asked again.  
  
Neville gulped. In all the conversations he and Luna had had since they started going out, he never once brought up his parents. She hadn't asked for any information about them, and he wasn't ready to tell her. He felt silly, she should know. Other people knew, he told himself. Well, truthfully, no one would know if he hadn't seen Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny in the hospital ward a year ago.  
  
"I've been having some bad dreams lately. I guess I'm just letting them bother me," Neville said quietly, starting on his porridge.  
  
"I think everyone has bad dreams sometimes," Luna said softly. "I've been dreaming about the Ministry of Magic lately. I keep remembering how scared I was. How I was sure I was going to die."  
  
Luna looked so upset that Neville walked around to the other side of the table and sat next to her. "I'm sorry I brought this up," Neville said, putting his arm around her.  
  
Luna smiled at him. "I'm fine," she said brightly. Neville reached across the table to bring his breakfast to him.  
  
They ate in silence for a bit when Luna asked, "There's a Hogsmeade weekend in three weeks, should we spend the day together, do you think?"  
  
Neville nodded. He was thrilled that he was even allowed to go to Hogsmeade. He remembered his third year, when Professor McGonagall banned him from all visits. Luckily, that only lasted the year.  
  
Breakfast ended too quickly, and before he knew it, it was time to go to class.  
  
-------------------------  
  
"Today we will be learning how to change our heights. Again, like all body changing spells, this is very complex. The incantation is _Proceritas Secus._ Get into you pairs," Professor McGonagall said briskly.  
  
Neville was pairing up with Hermione this week. "Point your wand at your partner, and think about the height you want to make them. Try only for a few inches shorter or taller to start."  
  
Hermione looked like she was going to burst if she didn't try the spell soon, so Neville let her go first.  
  
She pointed her wand at him and said, _"Proceritas Secus."  
_  
Neville felt nothing for a few seconds, then felt the strangest sensation in his legs. His legs were stretching! He was getting taller. Hermione had the utmost look of concentration on her face. Taking a deep breath, she lowered her wand.  
  
Neville looked down. He was at least six inches taller than he was before. He could feel a slight draft on his bare leg, where his pants or socks didn't cover. "I like this height!" Neville said, and Hermione beamed at him. "Let me try you," Neville said eagerly.  
  
He said the incantation and thought hard about Hermione losing inches. After two minutes of work, she was maybe four inches shorter. "Good work, Neville!" Hermione said excitedly.  
  
Neville couldn't believe the fun this class was now. Before he had his own wand, he hated this class, always thinking he would mess up. He finally made the realization that magic could be fun.  
  
He eagerly looked around the room. Everyone was different heights. Ron, being the tallest in the class normally, had been made even taller. He was giving Hagrid a run for his money. Lavender, who was the shortest in the class, had shrunk quite a bit, looking like she was a relative of Professor Flitwick.  
  
"Now the hard part," Professor McGonagall announced. "Try to put them back the way they were."  
  
Hermione went first, and Neville was back to his regular height easily. The strange sensation in his legs stayed there, though. Then Neville tried. Hermione grew three inches quickly, but Neville couldn't seem to get that last inch. After trying three times in a row, Neville had to ask for Professor McGonagall's help.  
  
"Very good, Longbottom," she told him, putting Hermione back to her normal height.  
  
"Thank you, Professor," Neville said happily.  
  
"How are the rest of your classes going?" she asked, not unkindly.  
  
"I'm having a good year, this year," Neville said smiling, thrilled that it was true.  
  
-------------------------  
  
The next few weeks passed quickly, and Neville was looking forward to spending the Hogsmeade day with Luna. It was the end of November, and it was time to put on the winter coats. There was no snowfall yet, but Luna said that was because Mother Nature still hadn't been given control of the weather.  
  
They met in the Great Hall. Luna was wearing jeans, and a long navy blue coat. She wore a knitted baby blue cap on her head that matched her long scarf and the pair of mittens that were attached to her coat by some fasteners. Neville started to say something about the fasteners when she said, "I lose my mittens a lot."  
  
"Something we have in common," Neville joked, taking her hand. The sun was shining brightly. Quickly though, Luna's cheeks turned red from the cold. They walked to the village in a group with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. The first thing Neville noticed in the village was the number of Enforcers and Aurors guarding the streets.  
  
The group shared a look. "They must be worried of an attack," Ginny said softly. The rest of them just nodded.  
  
Ron announced that he wanted to go to the quidditch shop, and Harry, Hermione and Ginny followed him, leaving Neville and Luna on their own. "What should we do?" Neville asked, desperate to please.  
  
"Why don't we take a bit of a walk? Then we can have lunch," Luna said simply. That sounded good to Neville. They walked away from the village towards the Shrieking Shack. For a few minutes, they stood in front of it, just holding hands in silence.  
  
"Do you believe it's haunted?" Neville asked.  
  
"No. The Ministry of Magic bewitched it to seem haunted," Luna said confidently. "In reality, it's a secret army base."  
  
Neville just nodded, used to Luna's proclamations. He looked around quickly, and saw that now one was in the area. Feeling quite brave, he wrapped his arms around Luna and started kissing her.  
  
"Neville!" Luna giggled, and then kissed him right back. Neville had learned quickly that it was hard having a girlfriend in a different house than your own. They never found time to really be alone together. Today was the first time they were able to have more than just a peck in a week.  
  
The kissing intensified, and Neville decided he didn't need lunch; he'd rather just stay out here all afternoon with her.  
  
"Lovegood Longbottom. Now that's an interesting combination," a malicious voice called out. Immediately, Neville and Luna broke apart, they wands out.  
  
Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Theodore Nott were walking towards them. "Let's go," Luna said quietly to Neville, taking his hand.  
  
"Leaving so soon?" Malfoy drawled, slowly taking his wand out. "You two have a lesson to learn. Especially you, Lovegood."  
  
Finally Neville found his voice. "Leave her alone, Malfoy," he said confidently.  
  
"Or you'll do what? Let me practice the leg locking curse on you again?" he sneered.  
  
Neville cursed at him. Draco raised his eyebrow. "You need to be taught some manners, Longbottom," he said, his eyes narrowing.  
  
Neville and Luna raised their wands at the same time and jinxed him. Draco fell to the ground, barely able to breath, he was laughing so hard. Luna must have hit him with a tickling jinx.  
  
Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott pulled their own wands out quickly.  
  
Just then, they heard Professor Sinistra's voice, who was chaperoning today. "Break it up! All of you!" she cried. The group slowly put their wands away. Neville and Luna quickly started walking towards the village. Neville took a look back at the Slytherins. His stomach was in knots. He knew this wasn't over yet.  
  
-------------------------  
  
**A/N - Proceritas - Height; Secus - Different**


	12. The Dueling Contest

**Chapter Twelve – The Dueling Contest**  
  
Neville went through the next week expecting Malfoy and his gang to ambush him at any moment. Even though he told himself that he could handle Malfoy, he still tried not to walk through the hallways alone.  
  
Luckily, the only thing that Malfoy threatened Neville with was a couple of dirty looks. Once Malfoy made a suggestive remark to Luna when he saw her and Neville holding hands in the hallway. He regretted that instantly. Luna took out her wand and cursed him with a blasting curse so quickly that Neville hadn't even realized that she stopped holding his hand.  
  
There was a D.A. meeting the second to last day before Christmas break. Neville was looking forward to the break, but at the same time was going to miss Luna. He had gotten used to seeing her everyday. Now they had to go two weeks without seeing each other.  
  
"Today for a bit of fun, we're going to have a dueling contest," Professor Binns-Morgan told the D.A. "Here is the list of the starting pairs. Find you partner, get into pairs, and when I say 'Go,' start the duel. Standard rules apply. When you've been knocked out, go stand at the side of the room and watch the rest of the duelers."  
  
Neville looked at the list and saw that his partner was Millicent Bulstrode. Luna was standing across from Zacharias Smith.  
  
Neville gulped at stood across from Millicent. Neville had never talked to the Slytherin girl before. She was extremely tall and heavy set and she looking at him like he was scum.  
  
"Ready...Bow to your partner...wands at the ready...Go!" shouted Professor Binns- Morgan.  
  
Millicent threw a disarming spell at which Neville blocked easily. Neville threw the same spell back at her, which she also blocked. Millicent cast a twitchy ear hex on Neville, which he couldn't shield himself from. It was hard for Neville to concentrate on anything other than how his ears where wiggling.  
  
Neville gained his composure and cast a banishing charm on Millicent's wand. Her wand went six feet behind her. Neville was slightly frightened as she growled at him, but he said, "_Accio_ wand!" clearly, and her wand rattled across the floor and then flew into his hand.  
  
He handed her wand back to her. As she passed him to go stand next to the wall, she bumped straight into him, knocking him down to the floor. Neville shook his head and stood up slowly, regaining his balance. Remembering how twitchy his ears felt, he waved his wand and ended the hex.  
  
Five minutes later, the first round was done. Neville was pleased to see that Luna had beaten Zacharias. Professor Binns-Morgan quickly put the remaining sixteen into pairs. Neville was now paired up with Cho Chang.  
  
Now he was worried. Cho was a year older than him, and had probably learned much more magic than him.  
  
"Go!" Professor Binns-Morgan yelled.  
  
Cho must have been distracted, because Neville cried "_Expelliarmus!"_ and she was disarmed easily. Smiling, she took her wand back from Neville and went to stand at the wall. Neville had to wait for ten minutes until this round was over.  
  
Neville looked at the people who were left. It was down to Neville, Luna, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Susan Bones, Ernie Macmillan and Terry Boot. Harry wasn't in the contest; he was helping Professor Binns-Morgan referee the duels.  
  
He was quickly paired with Susan Bones. He smiled at Susan. He always thought she was nice; she shared his interest in Herbology with him, just not as obsessive. He saw that Luna was paired against Hermione. As smart as Luna was, he had a gut feeling that this would be her last round.  
  
"Go!"  
  
Neville was caught a little off guard, staring at the other pairs. Just in time, he shielded himself from a tickling curse. Neville threw a trip jinx at Susan. She fell flat on her face, and dropped her wand, which then rolled straight to Neville. He bent down and picked her wand without needing a spell. Quickly, he walked to Susan and helped her up.  
  
"I'm sorry!" Neville said worriedly.  
  
"Don't worry!" Susan laughed, rubbing her nose. "Good job."  
  
"Thanks," Neville grinned and handed her his wand. He couldn't believe that he was going to be in the final four.  
  
Neville watched the rest of the duels finish. Hermione took Luna out with a very good leg- locking curse. (He still hated that curse.) Ron was out, and he looked like he was ready to jump Draco and beat him up. Now it was down to Neville, Hermione, Draco and Ernie Macmillan.  
  
"Neville and Ernie, you two will duel. Hermione and Draco, you'll both duel," Professor Binns-Morgan said. It was hard to miss the excitement that was building up in the room.  
  
"Take your positions," the professor said.  
  
Neville set himself across from Ernie.  
  
"Go!"  
  
Neville struck first. He tried disarming Ernie, but Ernie blocked the spell easily. Neville couldn't tell what spell Ernie threw at him, but Neville simply stepped out of the way of the blue light.  
  
He and Ernie battled for more than ten minutes. Neville could feel beads of sweat trickling down the side of his face. Finally, Neville decided he would have to take the duel one step further.  
  
"_Stupefy!"_ Neville shouted. He hadn't tried stunning Ernie before. Ernie took a moment too long before trying to defend himself, and was knocked to the floor, unconscious. Neville pointed his wand at Ernie's wand and said "_Accio_ wand!" and it was in his hand.  
  
The moment Neville took Ernie's wand from his hand people started cheering loudly. Neville looked around, surprised. He had almost forgotten that people were watching. Neville stood next to the wall and watched the rest of Hermione and Draco's duel. Hermione's hair was standing straight up and Draco had a horn growing out of his back.  
  
Finally, Hermione's hair fell in front of her face at the exact moment Draco tried to disarm her. Her wand left her hand easily. Neville gulped.  
  
He would be facing Draco in the final round.  
  
"Let's take a ten minute break," Professor Binns-Morgan said easily.  
  
Neville left the Great Hall quickly, needed to clean up a bit. There were a lot of footsteps behind him. Neville turned around and saw that he was being followed.  
  
"You can totally beat him," Ron said, slapping him on the back.  
  
"I'm not supposed to take sides," Harry grinned, "but it's Malfoy. Kick his ass."  
  
"You'll do great, Neville," Ginny smiled.  
  
"Thanks," Neville said, before ducking into the boy's bathroom. He faced the mirror. Truthfully, he didn't know if he could beat Draco. He knew Draco would have no problem playing dirty. Neville decided that the best he could do was hope he wouldn't embarrass himself.  
  
He left the bathroom with only a few minutes to spare. Luna was waiting for him. She wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him. "You'll be fine," she said softly.  
  
"Do you really think so?" he asked, hugging her tightly.  
  
"I do," she said, smiling. "Good luck."  
  
Neville walked into the Great Hall, almost hoping no one would notice. It didn't work. The crowd started chanting "Ne-ville! Ne-ville! Ne-ville!" The students were on two sides of the Hall. One side was Slytherin. The other side had everyone else.  
  
"Take your positions," Professor Binns-Morgan said loudly. The cheers died down quickly.  
  
"Bow to your dueling partner!" she said. Neville walked three steps and bowed to Draco.  
  
"Wands at the ready!" Neville took out his wand and faced Draco.  
  
"Go!" she cried.  
  
Neville and Draco both cast a disarming spell at the same time. The flashes of light bounced off of each other harmlessly.  
  
Neville was able to get the next spell out first, "_Aerarduus!"_ he cried. Draco wasn't able to move fast enough and was hit with wheezing hex. Draco took a moment and held his side, wheezing loudly. Neville tried to disarm Draco again, but he blocked it at the last moment.  
  
Draco then shot a stunning curse at Neville, which he dodged by rolling to the ground very quickly. Neville tried to stun Draco, but Draco jumped fast, and got out of the way.  
  
Neville was breathing hard. His elbow hurt where he rolled on the ground. He and Draco both took a moment to compose themselves. Draco threw a tickling curse at Neville. He couldn't move fast enough and started laughing uncontrollably. Neville gathered all his concentration and was able to throw the curse off of himself.  
  
At that time, Draco had already thrown a disarming spell. His aim was high, and Neville dropped to his knees to avoid being hit.  
  
Quickly, Neville thought about what spell to use. He remembered a spell used on him his first year. He remembered how scared and vulnerable the spell made him feel.  
  
"_Petrificus Totalus!"_ Neville cried, surprising Draco. He didn't move in time, and the spell hit him right in the chest. Draco's arms and legs snapped to attention, and Draco fell over on his back.  
  
Neville ran over to Draco and took his wand from his hand. The Great Hall erupted into cheers. Neville smiled meekly, not really believing that he had beaten Draco in a duel. Luna ran up to him and threw her arms around him.  
  
"Well done, Neville!" Professor Binns-Morgan cried. "The winner gets a prize."  
  
She handed Neville an envelope, which contained a ten-galleon certificate to Honeydukes.  
  
"That's all for today everyone. Have a great Holiday," she called out.  
  
It took a good half hour before Neville could leave the Great Hall. Every person that rooted for him seemed to want to congratulate him. Neville was almost embarrassed by all the attention. Almost, but not quite.  
  
-------------------------  
  
"I'm going to miss you," Luna said. They were both back at the King's Cross Station. Neville's grandmother was tapping her foot impatiently.  
  
"Me too," Neville said, giving Luna a hug. As much as he would like to, he wasn't ready to kiss Luna in front of his grandmother yet.  
  
"I'll owl you," she promised, holding him tightly.  
  
"I will too," Neville said. "But I'll see you in two weeks."  
  
"True, that's not so far away," she said smiling.  
  
"Neville!" his grandmother cried.  
  
"Coming Gran!" Neville shouted back.  
  
"Bye," they both said at the same time. Another quick hug, and they went their separate ways.  
  
-------------------------  
  
He and Luna owled each other everyday. On Christmas Day, Neville and his grandmother went to St. Mungos, to visit his parents. When they got to the ward, they weren't allowed in. A patient was having a fit, and they needed some time to settle him down.  
  
Neville asked quickly if the man was his father. The orderly knew Neville by sight, and told him that it wasn't. Neville's grandmother decided to stay in the hallway and wait. She conjured up a chair for herself.  
  
Neville decided to walk around the hospital. He needed to stretch his legs. He walked down floor by floor, just walking through the hallway until he reached another staircase. He did the same thing going up the floors as well, hoping that when he reached the fourth floor he'd be able to see his parents.  
  
On the second floor, he saw a small man with dirty blonde hair enter a room. Without thinking, his eyes followed the man, looking into the room.  
  
Neville's heart skipped a beat. There lying in a hospital bed, looking as white as a sheet was Luna.  
  
-------------------------  
  
**A/N: An evil cliffhanger I know! We'll finally learn what's up with Luna next chapter. Cheers!  
  
Aer-Air; Arduus-difficult**


	13. Cruor Toxicium

**Chapter Thirteen – Cruor Toxicium**  
  
Neville felt his heart pounding in his throat. Before he could stop himself, he entered the hospital room. "Luna?" he said softly.  
  
Her eyes were closed, but she seemed to move her head in the direction of his voice.  
  
"Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?" an angry voice said.  
  
Neville looked to his left. The small, dirty blonde haired man was sitting at a table in the corner of the room. Neville could tell at once that it was her father.  
  
"I'm sorry," Neville said quickly. "I'm Neville Longbottom, her..."  
  
The man's face relaxed. "Luna's told me a lot about you," he said gently. "I'm Lawrence Lovegood, her father."  
  
"What's wrong with her?" Neville asked.  
  
"She didn't tell you?" Mister Lovegood asked sharply.  
  
Neville shook his head miserably.  
  
"That's for her to tell you, son. I can't betray her confidences," Mister Lovegood said.  
  
Neville took a good look at Luna in the hospital bed. She was curled up in a ball. There was a tube stuck in her arm, attached to a bag that looked like it could be blood.  
  
Her eyes fluttered open. "Neville?" she asked, so softly, he could barely hear her.  
  
"I'm here, Luna," Neville said, reaching for her hand.  
  
"Don't touch her," her father said quickly.  
  
Neville brought his hand back instantly.  
  
"Happy Christmas," Luna whispered. Happy Christmas? Neville was fuming. Here was his girlfriend, lying in a hospital bed, looking like she was dying, and all she had to say was Happy Christmas?  
  
"Happy Christmas to you," Neville said, keeping his true feelings hidden.  
  
"Can't talk...Will you come back...tomorrow?" Luna asked.  
  
Neville nodded, then realized her eyes were closed again, and said, "Sure, Luna."  
  
"I can go home...at two," Luna said. She stayed silent after that. He watched her until her breathing became steady, and he knew she was asleep.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Neville ran up the stairs two at a time till he reached the Closed Ward. The patient's fit must have ended, because his grandma was no longer sitting in the hallway.  
  
He entered the ward and saw his parents, sitting in chairs. They were holding hands, which made Neville's heart soar. He sat in another chair across from them. He spent the next hour, talking about unimportant things with his grandmother. As much as he wanted to spend time with his parents, he wanted to be alone more. He would see them tomorrow.  
  
Finally, his grandmother announced it was time for them to leave. His mother gave him an empty sugar packet on the way out. Neville accepted it, and felt ashamed that all he wanted to do was brood.  
  
Then they were home. Neville felt his throat constricting. It was too much. There was too much going on. His head was pounding. He needed to escape.  
  
Before he realized what he was doing, he grabbed his grandmother's broom. "I'm going for a quick fly, Gran!" he called out to his grandmother.  
  
"Be careful, dear," his grandmother called back.  
  
Neville ran out of the house to a field that he knew many people didn't go to. His face was red and covered with sweat when he got there, but he didn't care. He tossed the broom on the ground.  
  
"Up!" he cried. This time, he wasn't scared. The broom went to his hand immediately. Neville tried to remember what to do next. He couldn't remember how to properly mount the broom. Finally, he swung his leg over the broom. Carefully, he kicked up his feet, and started hovering a few feet off of the ground.  
  
Immediately, he felt better. Neville leaned forward, and the broom starting moving. Neville leaned forward a little more and then broom moved even faster. Luna was right, flying was freeing.  
  
Thinking of Luna made him unconsciously go higher. Why couldn't she tell him she was sick? He had asked her a few times during the first term what was wrong. Why did she lie to him?  
  
Neville quickly had to swerve out of the way of a tree. He was a little too high for his liking, so he leaned back. Did she think he couldn't handle the truth? Look at what he was dealing with! He was helping Harry learn Legilimency twice a week. His memories were being broken into easily now. Harry even was beginning to try to place false memories in Neville's mind. Harry was going to be trying to break into you-know-who's mind soon!  
  
And to top it off, he kept having these awful dreams about his parents being tortured! Neville was distracted for a moment and fell a few feet off of his broom. He fell into a roll, which saved him from injury. Neville sat in that spot, where he fell, for almost an hour, until he realized his grandmother would have a search party for him unless he got himself back to the house.  
  
-------------------------  
  
The next afternoon, Neville walked into Luna's hospital room, exactly at two o'clock. He had expected her to look tired, or that same awful white color she was yesterday. But Luna was the opposite. She jumped off of her bed when he entered, and her cheeks were flushed.  
  
She stood across from him warily. "Do you hate me?" she asked quietly.  
  
Neville shook his head. He was upset with her, for not telling him the truth, but he could never hate her. He took a good look at her. Luna's hair was in two pigtails. She was wearing a white t-shirt under a navy blue knitted cardigan with a pair of jeans.  
  
"I can't quite leave St. Mungos yet," she started, "Could we go to the tea room?"  
  
"Sure," Neville said and he started walking towards the elevators. They stood in the elevator in silence. Neville felt Luna slip her hand into his. He gave her hand a squeeze, and she smiled so bright that it almost broke Neville's heart.  
  
"Happy belated birthday," he said quietly.  
  
"I got your card yesterday," she said softly. "Thank you very much. It was beautiful."  
  
Neville blushed a bit. He spent forever choosing a card for her birthday. He was glad she liked it.  
  
She expertly poured the tea from an ancient looking kettle. She brought over two steaming cups and handed one to Neville. She sat Indian style on the chair. As she stirred in some milk, staring at her mug, she said, "Ask me whatever you would like to know."  
  
Neville blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "Are you dying?"  
  
Luna looked up with those silver eyes. "In ten to fifteen years, yes," she said softly.  
  
"What do you have?" Neville asked.  
  
Luna took a thoughtful sip of her tea. "A blood disease called Cruor Toxicium. Basically, over a period of time, my body rejects my blood. Every three months, I have to be drained of my blood and then given new blood. That's what you saw yesterday."  
  
That sounded awful to Neville. "Every three months?" he asked in horror.  
  
Luna nodded. "I was born with this. When I was a baby, I only needed treatments every six months. Over time, my body rejects new blood faster and faster. Soon it will be a treatment every two months, then every month, every week. There won't be any point to living when it has to happen every day," she said softly.  
  
"There's no cure?" Neville asked.  
  
She shook her head. "No cure," she said simply.  
  
Neville couldn't bring himself to ask the question he most wanted an answer to. They sat for a while, drinking their tea, saying nothing.  
  
Finally, Neville had to ask or he thought he would burst. "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
Luna wouldn't meet his eyes. "You didn't need to know," she said quietly.  
  
"The hell I didn't!" Neville said so forcefully, he almost scared himself. Luna's eyes went wide looking at him, and right away, Neville felt ashamed of his outburst.  
  
"I'm sorry," Neville said softly, reaching for her hand. "Did I make you reject your blood faster? I kept making you go on walks..."  
  
Luna finally smiled at him. "You know how I've been really tired these past two weeks?" she asked.  
  
Neville nodded.  
  
"I was pushing myself to stay healthy. I should have had a treatment two weeks ago, but I was able to wait until the holidays. I avoid sugar and alcohol. I only eat healthy food. It's all my way of trying to delay the treatment as long as possible. You help me with that," she said quietly.  
  
That certainly explained why Luna would take such a long time trying to decide what to eat every day. Their eyes met, and she gave him another smile.  
  
"One reason I'm so calm all the time? If I get worked up, my body will reject my blood faster. I meditate everyday. That helps a lot," Luna told him.  
  
A horrible thought went through Neville's head. "I get you worked up! Don't I? When we're..." he trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to say kissing.  
  
Luna threw her head back and laughed. Neville felt so much better hearing her laugh. "That's a good getting worked up, silly," she teased him. "I mean getting angry or upset."  
  
"Oh," Neville said quietly, feeling embarrassed.  
  
Suddenly, a Healer walked into the room. "There you are, Luna," she said. "You're free to go."  
  
"Thank you," Luna said softly. She stood up slowly, and Neville followed suite.  
  
"So when's your next treatment?" Neville asked.  
  
"It should be at the end of March. But I'm hoping I could push it back to the Easter weekend, in the middle of April," Luna said, walking towards the door.  
  
Neville looked at her, how beautiful she looked, even though she was sick, and couldn't believe what he was about to do.  
  
"Luna?' he asked. She looked at him expectantly.  
  
"I have some people I'd like you to meet."  
  
-------------------------  
  
Together they walked into the Closed Ward. His parents were lying in bed, staring at each other.  
  
Neville cleared his throat. "Luna, these are my parents, Frank and Alice Longbottom." He looked at his parents. "Mum and Dad? This is Luna Lovegood, my...my girlfriend."  
  
His parents made no notice of either of them, just continued staring at each other.  
  
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom," Luna said cheerfully. She sat down and started talking to them like they were normal people. She told them about her father, what her favorite classes were and even who her favorite ghost at Hogwarts was. The Fat Friar, since he would talk to her when the Gray Lady wouldn't. Neville didn't even know that!  
  
Neville watched her amazed. Twenty minutes later, Luna looked at a clock and said she had to go home soon. Neville's mother must have understood her, because she stood up and went to her nightstand and brought out two scraps of paper.  
  
She gave one to Neville and one to Luna. Luna's eyes lit up when she got the scrap piece of paper. "Thank you very much," she said happily. She put it in the pocket of her cardigan carefully.  
  
Neville followed Luna out of the Closed Ward. They stepped in the elevator. Luna turned to him and said, "I know you were upset that I didn't tell you about my disease. Why didn't you tell me about your parents?"  
  
Neville gulped. "I hadn't thought about it that way," he said.  
  
Luna stuck out her hand. "Let's agree now. No more secrets between us," she said seriously.  
  
Neville took her hand. "No more secrets," he said softly. "My parents were Aurors..." he started. But Luna cut him off.  
  
"I know what happened, Neville," she said.  
  
Neville's jaw dropped. "You do? How?"  
  
"When I told my father we were dating, he brought me old Quibbler articles that mentioned what happened. The Quibbler ran quite a few articles on your parents," she said.  
  
"Oh," Neville said. He had a feeling that the Quibbler's version wasn't going to be the true version. "Well, let me tell you what I was told when I wanted to know what happened."  
  
-------------------------  
  
**A/N – Cruor: Latin for blood and Toxicium: Latin for poison**


	14. Truth and Consequences

Chapter Fourteen – Truth and Consequences  
  
"So they weren't abducted by the Son of Odin and granted access into the Library of Power?" Luna asked curiously.  
  
Neville shook his head. "Death Eaters just tortured them until they lost their minds," he said sadly.  
  
"Oh," Luna said softly. They were sitting in Starbucks. Neville didn't have to be home until dinnertime, so he still had an hour to spend with Luna.  
  
He left his hand on the table, hoping that she would reach for him. When she made no move, Neville went to hold her hand. Just then, Luna picked up her cup with both her hands.  
  
Suddenly, Neville didn't feel like talking about his parents anymore. "Did you have a nice birthday?" he asked quietly.  
  
She shook her head. "The day before my procedure I get really nervous. Even though I know I'll be fine, I still can't help being scared," she told him.  
  
"Did you get any presents?" Neville asked.  
  
"Daddy got me this sweater," she said indicating the blue cardigan that she was wearing. "It's not really my taste, but he tried."  
  
"What about your other family members?" he pressed on. She never spoke about her family.  
  
She took a sip of coffee thoughtfully. "I really don't have any family besides Daddy. My grandparents are dead, and my parents were both an only child."  
  
That seemed sad to Neville. Granted, he wasn't always pleased with his family, especially Great Uncle Algie, but he knew they would always be there for him.  
  
Luna stood up. "I have to be getting home," she said. Neville followed her outside.  
  
"How are you getting home?" he asked.  
  
"I'm going to walk back to St. Mungos and floo," she said easily. "You?"  
  
He grinned, "Same here."  
  
Neville went to hold her hand, but she put some distance between them. They walked in silence for almost the entire way back to the hospital.  
  
They stopped in front of the public fire. "I'll see you on the train back to Hogwarts," Luna said.  
  
Neville gave her a hug. He wanted to hold her, to sit with her and have her tell him everything would be allright. That she wouldn't be dead in ten years.  
  
"See you," Neville said softly. Luna took a handful of floo powder and was gone.  
  
He ran right up to his room when he got home, telling his grandmother that he wasn't hungry at all. He stared at the ceiling of his room. Luna was sick. He couldn't believe it. But he knew it was true. So many things fell into place when he found out.  
  
Since the beginning of the month, Neville had started to suspect that his feelings for Luna were stronger than he realized. There were even times that he thought he might love her. Neville closed his eyes. They were both so young, and did he even know what love was yet?  
  
There was a knock on his door. "Neville?" his grandmother said quietly.  
  
Neville sat up quickly. "Yes, Gran?" he asked.  
  
"I brought some dinner up for you," she told him. "I know you said you weren't hungry..."  
  
"Thanks, Gran," he muttered.  
  
She brought the tray and placed it on his desk. "You know Neville, I understand if you're going through a rough time right now," she said.  
  
"I'm not going through a rough time," he lied.  
  
"Your father was just the same way. Mooning over girls left and right during Hogwarts. I can't tell you how happy I was when he met Alice in Auror training," his grandmother said.  
  
"Thanks, Gran," he said.  
  
"Eat up, Neville. You're a growing boy," she said, leaving the room.  
  
Neville pounded his fists on the bed. He would never be good enough for his grandmother. She even compared his moodiness with his father's! Neville ripped apart a biscuit and started chewing.  
  
All he had heard since he could remember was how wonderful his father was. Neville had no doubt that his father had been a great man. But he was sick of trying to live up to an ideal he knew he would never reach. Once, just once, could his grandmother try to say something nice to Neville without bringing his father into it?  
  
He would stop trying to be his father. From now on, no matter what happened, he would try to be true to Neville Longbottom, instead of trying to live up to Frank Longbottom.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Neville looked around frantically for Luna outside of the Hogwarts Express. He couldn't find her. What if something happened?  
  
Finally, he had to give up and get on the train before it left. He walked through, trying to find a compartment and saw Luna sitting in one, looking out of the window.  
  
He let himself in. "I was worried!" Neville said. "I didn't see you outside."  
  
Luna looked at him. "I was cold, so I went inside the train," she said slowly.  
  
"Are you okay?" Neville asked, concerned.  
  
"I'm fine, Neville," Luna said, turning her attention to the window. Neville sat next to her, and put his arm around her. He hoped that she would relax next to him; he enjoyed feeling her body next to his. But she sat up straighter.  
  
"Are you looking for those Faeries?" Neville asked.  
  
She shook her head. "Not until the train is speeding along. I shouldn't see any today though. I think they've all migrated to France for the winter," she said softly.  
  
They sat in silence for a while. Neville couldn't seem to think of anything to say. Luna wasn't in the best mood, that much was certain.  
  
Luna started rubbing her temples.  
  
"Are you okay?" Neville asked worriedly, "Do you have a headache?"  
  
"Stop it," Luna said quietly.  
  
"Stop what?" Neville asked.  
  
Luna stood up and sat across from him. "Stop thinking that every little thing I do is because I'm sick," she said forcefully.  
  
"Luna," Neville said, shocked, "I'm just worried about you..."  
  
She cut him off. "I don't want you being worried about me! I want you treating me the way you did before, before you knew I was sick."  
  
"But you are sick, Luna," Neville whispered.  
  
Luna's eyes filled with tears. "Stop looking at me like I'm already dead," she said softly, and left the compartment.  
  
Neville just sat there with his mouth open, not sure of what just happened. The compartment door opened again, and Harry, Ron and Ginny sat down.  
  
"Have a nice holiday Neville?" Harry asked happily.  
  
Neville mumbled, "Fine," and stood up. He had to talk to Luna. He excused himself and left the compartment.  
  
He found her at the very last compartment, staring out the window, her knees next to her chest.  
  
He let himself in quietly, and sat across from her. "I'm sorry," he said. But the problem was, he didn't know if he was sorry. Neville thought he had a right to be concerned.  
  
"I would have told you eventually," Luna said, her eyes never leaving the window. "I didn't want you knowing so soon."  
  
"But I know now," Neville said.  
  
"You know now," Luna repeated. "And every time you think of me, you won't be thinking of me. You'll be wondering how I'm feeling. You'll stop wanting to know every little thing about me, because some day, Neville, you're going to lose me. And one day, you'll wake up and realize I'm not what you bargained for."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Neville cried.  
  
Luna finally looked at him. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "I'm breaking up with you," she said softly. "I can't be with you anymore."  
  
"Luna, no!" Neville cried. "Not over this."  
  
Luna nodded. "I don't want to be a ghost to you, Neville."  
  
"You're not a ghost to me, Luna," Neville said forcefully. "You're a real, breathing, living person. Someone that I care for, and who I want to be with."  
  
"I'm sorry," Luna said, changing her focus back to the window.  
  
"Please, Luna," Neville begged.  
  
Neville watched her shake her head, and felt defeated. Quietly, he walked out of the compartment and locked himself in the boy's bathroom. Neville could feel his eyes filling with tears. He started the faucet, and splashed some cool water on his face.  
  
"This can't be happening," Neville told himself.  
  
He stared at himself at the mirror. All he could see were his flaws. His cheeks were too round, his eyes too small. "I just want to be with her," Neville told his reflection.  
  
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, and Neville snapped to attention. He left the bathroom quickly, and saw a small line had formed since he locked himself in. Muttering "Sorry," to the people in line, he went to find an empty compartment to brood in.  
  
-------------------------  
  
The worst part was all the questions. Everyone wanted to know why Luna didn't eat dinner at the Gryffindor table anymore. Neville must have repeated the story ten times at dinner that day. He changed it slightly though. He told everyone that they were taking a break. Not that they had broken up. Everyone knew what he meant though.  
  
When Neville woke up the next morning, he immediately thought of Luna. It took a moment before he remembered what had happened the day before.  
  
The first week was the hardest. He still saw her, in the halls, at dinner. Every time, he wanted to beg her to take him back, but he knew he wouldn't.  
  
Everyday though, Neville watered and pruned the Turnishes. That was his shrine to her, to what they had shared. They were almost ready to share to the world.  
  
------------------------  
  
"I can't believe it!" Colin Creevey whispered to the table. "He's been sentenced to Azkaban!"  
  
"How could Draco Malfoy be so stupid to try to but the Imperius Curse on an Auror?" Lavender Brown said.  
  
"It doesn't make any sense," Dean Thomas said.  
  
Neville listened to the group thoughtfully. The news was what everyone was talking about. Draco Malfoy had been caught by Professor Snape in the dungeons. Draco had stunned Harry Potter and put an Auror under the Imperius Curse.  
  
"I always thought Professor Snape might be a Death Eater," Parvatti said, eyes wide.  
  
"He must not be, not if he turned in his favorite student," Seamus said excitedly. Nothing this dramatic had happened at Hogwarts in years.  
  
"I heard the Auror is Metamorph," Lavender said. "Just like Professor McGonagall was telling us in class a while ago."  
  
"I bet his parents get him out," Neville said glumly.  
  
"I don't know," Colin replied. "His dad is a wanted Death Eater. Malfoy might be stuck there."  
  
Neville shuddered at the thought of Azkaban. He remembered the Dementors that guarded the school his third year. He simply couldn't image a place where you couldn't remember any good thoughts at all.  
  
Neville looked over to the Ravenclaw table and sighed. He saw Luna, reading the Quibbler. It had been three weeks since she had broken up with him. He tried talking to her and even wrote her an owl, but nothing worked.  
  
Suddenly she looked up and their eyes met. Neville tried smiling at her. She studied him for a moment and then went back to the Quibbler. The usual longing for her was there in his heart. He sometimes seriously doubted if it would ever go away. 


	15. Caudio Alesco

**Chapter Fifteen – Caudia Alesco**  
  
"Neville?" Harry asked quietly. "Are you sure you're okay?"  
  
Neville nodded. "I'm fine. Let's try again."  
  
Harry was practicing Legilimency after a D.A. meeting with Neville. Harry had asked him to try Occlumency, to try to repel Harry's attack, but Neville's heart wasn't into it tonight.  
  
Luna had been at the meeting, like always. But tonight she seemed different. He kept catching her watching him, with those huge gray eyes of hers. It was a little unnerving. When the meeting was over, out of the corner of his eye, he saw her take a few steps towards him, shake her head, and then walk quickly out of the room. He had no idea what that meant.  
  
Worst of all, she looked much more paler than usual tonight. Even though they weren't together anymore, he still wanted her to be healthy.  
  
"Neville, we don't have to work tonight," Harry said finally.  
  
"I'm sorry, Harry. I'm just...distracted. I'm ready now," Neville said resoundly.  
  
Neville brought out his wand, wanting to be ready to defend himself.  
  
_"Legilimens!"_ Harry cried.  
  
Bits and pieces of memories started flashing through Neville's head. They were running through his head so quickly that Neville could hardly keep up. He saw a glimpse of Luna breaking up with him on the train, and without thinking yelled out, _"Protego!"  
_  
Neville's mind cleared and saw Harry sitting on the floor. "You blocked me!" Harry said happily. "I shouldn't be happy, cause now I have to work harder! But you blocked me! Good job!"  
  
Neville was pleased; Harry seemed genuinely happy that Neville repelled him.  
  
"Now you just have to learn to do that same thing with your mind," Harry continued. "I didn't understand the concept for ages. But it can be done."  
  
"We'll see," Neville joked.  
  
"Let's try again," Harry said eagerly.  
  
Neville positioned himself. _"Legilimens!"_ Harry yelled.  
  
Neville was about to turn eleven, and finally received his owl from Hogwarts...He was five, at his grandfather's funeral...His parents violently twitching on the floor, surrounded by Death Eaters...Shopping with his grandmother, and having to put on one of her hats, to help her decide which one to buy...  
  
"_Rictusempra!"_ Neville cried. He put his hands on his knees, panting.  
  
"Neville?" Harry asked warily after he shook off the tickling jinx.  
  
Neville shook his head. "What happened? One of those memories wasn't mine," he said softly.  
  
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, confused.  
  
"It's a dream I've been having a lot. My parents being tortured," Neville said. "It's not a real memory. I wasn't there. Both my parents worked that night, so my grandmother was watching me."  
  
"That can happen," Harry said slowly. "When I was first learning Occlumency, I would see my dreams as memories too."  
  
"Really?" Neville asked, feeling unsure.  
  
"Really," Harry reassured him. "It got to the point where I couldn't tell if it was real life or my dream world."  
  
"Okay," Neville said, feeling better.  
  
"Again?" Harry asked.  
  
"Neville nodded. "Again."  
  
-------------------------  
  
"Do you want to go watch the quidditch practice after class?" Dean asked Neville at lunch.  
  
Neville shook his head. Normally he'd love to go watch the team's practice. "I'm meeting my tutor this afternoon. Sorry."  
  
"Aw, you can skip that mate," Dean teased.  
  
"No, I really can't. I have some work to catch up on," Neville told him.  
  
"Next time, then," Dean said.  
  
Since Neville learned he was dyslexic, he had been working with a tutor once a week. His name was Bradford Bradley, a very patient seventh year Ravenclaw.  
  
He had lowered his dosage on the Reluctem Potion. Neville was hoping that he might not need the potion at all by the end of his seventh year. He still had a long way to go though, so he hoped that was a realistic goal.  
  
Neville looked over at Ron and Hermione holding hands, and smiled. They finally had gotten together during the last Hogsmeade weekend. They finally realized what the entire school had know for ages, that they were crazy for each other.  
  
Padma Patil suddenly tapped Neville on the shoulder. He had been sitting next to Parvati, and he assumed she wanted to chat with her twin sister. Neville scooted down, and Padma sat next to him. The twins started chatting enthusiastically. But after a few minutes, Padma turned, tapped him on the shoulder and asked, "Neville?"  
  
"Yes?" Neville replied.  
  
"I have a note to give you," she said, holding out a piece of parchment.  
  
Neville accepted the note, his hand slightly trembling. What if it was from Luna?  
  
He opened it slowly. He saw the signature and felt disappointed; the note was from his tutor.  
  
_Neville,  
  
I have to help Professor Flitwick this afternoon, so I won't be able to attend our session. I have found a replacement, so the meetings still on. Go to the table we usually sit at, and they'll meet you there.  
  
Bradford_  
  
-------------------------  
  
"If we can transfigure our body into any animal body part, why can't we fly?" Seamus asked excitedly.  
  
"A multiple of reasons, Mister Finnegan. First, you lack the hollow bones that you would require for flight," Professor McGonagall started. "Second, it is unrealistic that you would be able to reproduce the exact muscles that you would require for flight."  
  
Seamus started to open his mouth in protest, but Professor McGonagall shut him up with a look. "Shall I continue, Mister Finnegan?"  
  
"No, ma'am." Seamus said, staring at his desk.  
  
"Today we will be working on small parts of the body. By the end of the term, we may begin to transfigure entire limbs, or even your head. Do any of you remember, during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, at the second task, Mister Krum transfigured his head to a shark's head?" she asked the room.  
  
The room started murmuring with excitement. Professor McGonagall continued, "That is the first step in learning to become an Animagus. Becoming an Animagus is a very difficult task, and is strictly controlled by the Ministry.  
  
"Today, we shall begin with tails," the professor said sternly.  
  
"Tails?" Ron blurted out, without meaning to.  
  
"Tails, Mister Weasley. Speak out of turn like that again, and it will cost your house points," she scolded.  
  
"Sorry," Ron muttered under his breath.  
  
"Not many people realize how beneficial a tail can be. Tails help with balance, and can sometimes hold up to four times the owner's weight," she told the class. "Get into your groups."  
  
Neville stood up and sat with Lavender, Hermione and Harry. Professor McGonagall handed Lavender a sheet with four different diagrams on it. "These are some of the different tails that I would like you to try. I know it sounds easy to make your own tail, but it is quite complex. You are essentially creating something out of nothing.  
  
"Take your wand and say the incantation, _Caudia Alesco_, while tapping your backside."  
  
A few people in the room started stifling laughter. "This is no laughing matter! And if I see any funny business, I will have no problem giving out detentions," she said shrilly.  
  
Neville looked at the group. "Anyone want to try it first?" he asked. To no one's surprise, Hermione offered to go first.  
  
She scrunched up her face, tapped her wand. For thirty seconds, nothing seemed to happen, but then Neville watched a bushy tail starting to grow. A minute later, Hermione looked like she had a raccoon's tail. She looked down at it, pleased.  
  
"Can you move it yourself?" Lavender asked. Hermione thought for a moment, and the tail started moving back and forth.  
  
"I'll try," Neville said. He tapped his backside, feeling foolish, and said the incantation. A moment later, he felt the most curious sensation by his tailbone. He looked back, and saw that the tail was growing. Rather slowly, but it was growing. After a few minutes, he had his very own monkey tail!  
  
Neville thought hard about swishing his tail, and it complied. He reached his hand back and grabbed it, curious to know if it had feelings. Holding the tail too tightly, he quickly learned that it did.  
  
Lavender went next and had an incomplete Retriever's tail. Then Harry managed to almost finish his Elephant's tail.  
  
"You may all take a minute and look at each other's work," Professor McGonagall told the class. Everyone started walking around. The room started erupting with laughter.  
  
At first Neville was a little uncomfortable with the idea of staring at everyone's backsides. But then when he saw how odd everyone looked, and how funny it was, he quickly overcame the feelings.  
  
Parvati by far had the best looking tail in the room, even though it was slightly incomplete. She had managed to transfigure almost a complete peacock tail. Neville knew she must have concentrated fiercely, because the patterns on the feathers were beautiful.  
  
Several people had monkey tails, like Neville. Ron begged Professor McGonagall if he could run outside, to see if his tail could hold him hanging upside down. Professor McGonagall threatened to take house points away if he asked again.  
  
Suddenly Lavender shrieked and jumped out of her chair quickly. She shot a dirty look over at Seamus. Professor McGonagall looked furious. "I said no improper use of your tail! Detention, Mister Finnegan!"  
  
-------------------------  
  
When classes were done for the day, Neville walked to the library slowly. As much as he hated to admit it, his backside was sore. He kept having to resist the temptation of rubbing his bottom.  
  
Early on, Neville and his tutor, Bradford Bradley decided that they both liked the study table furthest away from Madam's Pince's desk. That way, they could almost speak in their regular voices.  
  
No one was sitting there yet, so Neville settled himself at the desk and took his books out. He sucked on the tip of his quill, decided what he wanted to work on that day. He had a Potions essay due soon, so he would most likely ask for help on that.  
  
Instead of concentrating on his homework, Neville found his eyes wandering around the library. Hermione was there, which was no surprise. Padma and Parvati were at a nearby table. Even though he had known them know for almost six years, he still couldn't get over how they looked exactly alike.  
  
Suddenly, Neville's heart skipped a beat. Luna had just wandered in the library. Her school robes were falling off of her shoulders, and her tie was loose around her neck. One knee sock had fallen around her ankle. Her hair was half up, using two pencils, and half down. Neville felt the usual longing when he saw her. She stopped when she reached the study table area.  
  
Neville looked down at his books, not having any desire to catch her eye. After a few minutes, he decided it must be safe to look up again. He looked up, and saw Luna standing right in front of his table, staring intently at him.  
  
When their eyes met, Luna gently placed her school bag on the table. Without any words, she slid out the chair across from Neville and sat down. Neville looked down again, feeling uncomfortable  
  
"Luna, my tutor will be here any minute," he muttered. "I can't talk right now."  
  
"I know," she said dreamily. "I'm your tutor today."  
  
-------------------------  
  
**A/N – Caudia Alesco (Latin) – Cauda – Tail of an Animal; Alesco – to Grow**


	16. Study Session

**Chapter Sixteen – Study Session**  
  
"You're my tutor?" Neville asked in disbelief.  
  
Luna nodded. "What would you like to work on?"  
  
Neville's jaw dropped. They hadn't spoken to each other in a month, and now she was going to help him with his Potions Essay? It was too much. "Luna, I can't do this," Neville said sadly.  
  
Luna looked down at her hands. "When Bradford said he needed a replacement, I jumped at the chance."  
  
"Why?" Neville asked.  
  
She looked up at him sadly. "Because I didn't think that you would talk to me any other way."  
  
Neville rubbed his eyes. "I would never say no to you Luna. You didn't have to go through all of this," he sighed.  
  
"Oh," Luna said softly. "Well, what are we going to work on?"  
  
He gave up. He wasn't sure what she wanted, except that she wanted to help him with his homework. "Potions. I've got an essay that I need proof- read."  
  
"I'll take a look at it," Luna said eagerly.  
  
He tossed the roll of parchment at her. She caught it easily and started reading. He watched her intensely as she read, making correction here and there with her quill.  
  
Finally, she looked up at him. "I'm sorry," she said slowly.  
  
Neville looked away. "What are you sorry about? Is my essay that bad?" he grumbled.  
  
"No, the essay is fine. There were only a few errors. I'm sorry about other things," she told him.  
  
Neville stared at her. "Other things?" he asked softly.  
  
Luna nodded, and held out his essay to him. She pointed at a specific paragraph with her quill. "You should probably go into more detail about the marigold stem here. How it's cut up is essential to the potion."  
  
"How do you know that?" Neville asked. "This is a sixth year potion."  
  
"Oh, I know all of my books for next year. I like to get a head start," she said, smiling.  
  
Neville then remembered what they were talking about in the first place. "What other things are you sorry about?" he asked, needing to know desperately.  
  
She looked at him for a moment. Then to his essay, and met his eyes one last time. "I was selfish," she said finally.  
  
"Selfish?" Neville repeated.  
  
"Uh-huh. I won't point out the grammar errors now; I've marked them on your essay. Other than that, you did a really good job, Neville," she said, beaming at him, as if she had helped him write it in the first place.  
  
He just stared at her. His brain couldn't seem to find anything useful to say.  
  
"Do you have anything else you would like to work on?" Luna asked quietly.  
  
"Bloody hell, Luna," Neville whispered. "What's going on? Why are you here? If we're just going to talk about homework, I'd, well, I'd prefer you to go."  
  
"I don't want to just talk about homework," Luna said, her eyes widening.  
  
"Good," Neville said, standing up. "Let's go." He threw his books back into his bag and started walking about of the library. Luna had to take huge steps to keep up with him. They walked through the hallways in silence. He was going to take her to the Great Hall to talk. She stopped when they were in front of the Greenhouse. Neville hesitated, not knowing if he wanted to talk to her there.  
  
"Please?" Luna asked softly. Neville said the password and walked inside. He looked by his station. When they had been together, she would sit on that stool and watch him work. He didn't want her sitting on that stool again. It might tear his heart in two.  
  
Luckily, she simply stood in front of him. She carelessly tossed her book bag to the ground.  
  
"Why did you say you were selfish?" Neville asked mutinously.  
  
"Neville, the first question you asked me was 'Are you dying?' Not 'How are you feeling?' or 'Are you okay?'" Luna said quickly. "All I could think about was that you knew that I was going to die young."  
  
"Luna, if you could've seen yourself in the hospital bed..." Neville trailed off. "You looked awful. Your dad told me not to touch you. I thought you were going to die that day!"  
  
"But I didn't," she said softly. "And I'm not going to die tomorrow, or the next day, or many, many days after that."  
  
"Luna..." Neville barely could say her name.  
  
"I've missed you, Neville Longbottom," Luna whispered.  
  
"What?" Neville said, not believing what he heard.  
  
She looked him in the eye. "I've missed you. I know I was selfish. I got so wrapped in how miserable I was feeling that it didn't even dawn on me that I was making you miserable too," she said, sounding more resolved.  
  
"What are you trying to say?" Neville asked, scarcely allowing himself to hope.  
  
"I haven't been the same since we came back from term, Neville. I thought I just didn't respond well to my last treatment. That happens sometimes. But then the other day, I realized what was wrong," she said.  
  
"What was wrong?" Neville asked, not trusting himself to have the right answer.  
  
"You weren't with me," Luna said simply. "I'm stronger with you than without you."  
  
"Luna..." he trailed off, as Luna placed her hands gently on his face brought him in for a kiss. Neville was in heaven, feeling her lips against his again.  
  
She broke away and looked him in the eye. "If you want me to go away, I'll understand," she said sadly. "I just wanted to tell you how I feel."  
  
It felt like it was ages before Neville could find his voice. "I don't want you to go away, Luna," he said meekly.  
  
Her face lit up. "Really?" she said brightly.  
  
"Really," he told her. He wrapped his arms around her, and held her close. He could feel her heartbeat. "I've missed you, Luna."  
  
She looked up at him, and to his horror, saw that she was crying. "Please don't cry," he said softly, wiping her tears away with his thumb. He didn't want to make her upset.  
  
"These are happy tears, silly," Luna said softly. "Happy tears are good tears." Then she raised her head to kiss him again.  
  
-------------------------  
  
When Neville walked Luna back to the West Tower later that evening, he thought he was the happiest person in the world. It didn't even bother him that people were staring at them, holding hands and walking through the corridors. He was back with Luna. That's all that mattered.  
  
He glanced at his pocket watch. There was still another hour before the curfew for sixth years. Neville decided to go back to the library. Instead of sitting down at a table, he walked over to a medical reference section. He was determined to learn everything he could about her disease.  
  
The first few books he looked through were no help. He wasn't entirely sure if he had the name of the disease right. He was thumbing through books at the same he was glancing at the shelves. Finally a title caught his eye. "Diseases of the Blood." He took it over to a table.  
  
The first section of the book made him feel queasy. He was pretty sure she didn't have any of those diseases. Then there was a section on blood poisons. The words Cruor Toxicium jumped out at him. That was it!  
  
Neville read the description of the disease in horror.  
  
_Cruor Toxicium, more commonly known as Poisoned Blood is a very rare disease, only known in the wizarding world. There is no equivalent for muggles. One is born with the disease; it cannot be contracted after birth. It is a hereditary disease. The wizard's blood turns poisonous, leading to great fatigue and eventually death. The only known treatment is to be completely drained of blood, and then given new blood. Eventually, the body turns the blood into poison faster after each treatment._  
  
Neville slammed the book shut in frustration. That was all there was describing the disease. But what about looking for a cure? What steps had been done? Had they taken the poison and tried to find an antidote? Neville wanted to howl at the lack of information. He was muttering just that when Madam Pince announced that the library was closing.  
  
He decided to come back to try to find out more tomorrow.  
  
-------------------------  
  
News spread quickly of Neville and Luna's reunion. More rumors and speculations flourished through the Great Hall the next morning. Neville decided not to listen to them this time. Though even he had to laugh when Colin said he heard that Moaning Myrtle had possessed Luna's body and could finally give in to her passion for Neville. Neville just smiled; everyone knew that Moaning Myrtle had a crush on Harry.  
  
Besides, he had more important things coming up. Valentine's Day was quickly approaching. The Turnishes were finally ready. He was going to make two of them into earrings and give them to Luna. Then he would suggest they eat some. He hadn't tried them himself. To tell the truth, he was rather afraid to.  
  
Valentine's Day was on a Friday this year. There was no Hogsmeade visit the next day, so the couples of Hogwarts were forced to find other ways to celebrate. Over and over, Ron, Neville and Seamus (who was now dating Hannah Abbott) discussed what they were going to do for their girlfriends.  
  
Ron said his goal was to be romantic and inexpensive. Seamus countered that quickly, saying that girls wanted blokes to spend a lot of money on that day, and didn't Neville agree? Neville quickly decided that Ron had the right idea. He certainly didn't have a lot of extra money lying around to spend.  
  
But before he could commit to thinking too much about Valentine's Day, he had to worry about the up coming Quidditch match, Gryffindor v. Ravenclaw. Luna had been very vocal that she would be supporting Ravenclaw for this match. Neville tried not to get too upset; she had to support her own house after all.  
  
The day of the match arrived, and Luna still ate breakfast at the Gryffindor table. Several members of the quidditch team looked at her suspiciously. "What if she's a spy for the Ravenclaw team?" Ron blurted out.  
  
"Just because I'm supporting Ravenclaw, doesn't mean I don't want you to do well, Ronald," Luna said calmly.  
  
It looked like an uneasy truce had been called at the table. That is, until she put on an enormous hat. An enormous hat that had an enormous eagle staring down at the team. The eagle sat in what looked to be a real nest.  
  
Ginny stood up, almost shaking in rage. "Out!" she cried. "You can sit here any other day but today!"  
  
Luna smiled pleasantly and stood up slowly. She gave Neville a quick kiss on the cheek, the hat almost falling in the process. She walked away unhurriedly, as if to give the Gryffindor team plenty of time to stare at her hat.  
  
The entire table seemed to be staring at Ginny and her outburst. She sat down quickly. "Sorry," she mumbled to Neville. "It's just...that hat is...Ravenclaw...at our table..." She couldn't seem to find the right words.  
  
Neville grinned, and took out his face paint to give some to Dean, who had just sat down at the table. "If you hadn't said something, I would have!"  
  
-------------------------  
  
Gryffindor won 320-80.  
  
-------------------------  
  
**A/N – Who will be my lucky 100th reviewer? Tee-hee!**


	17. Valentine's Day

Chapter Seventeen – Valentine's Day 

Neville looked at his pocket watch miserably. It was Valentine's Day, classes were over for the day, and he still had no idea what he was going to do for Luna. He had been hoping for a nice night out, so that they could take a walk outside. Unfortunately, there was close to a foot of snow on the ground.

He took out the small box that had the earrings that he had made for her. Neville was quite pleased with them actually. But other than that, he had nothing for her.

Neville kept trying to think of ideas, but his brain didn't seem to be working. He decided that he was the worst boyfriend ever.

He was waiting for her outside of the Great Hall. Out of nowhere she appeared and kissed him on the cheek. "Go change," she ordered.

"Why?" Neville looked down. He was wearing his school uniform.

"Because I feel like dressing up tonight," she smiled shyly.

"How dressy?" he asked warily.

"Put on what you wore to the Halloween Ball," she said cheerily.

"Sure," Neville said, and started walking towards his House.

"Meet me by the Greenhouse in twenty minutes," she called after him.

Neville ran up to his dorm. Ron was there changing as well. "So what are you doing tonight?" Neville asked him, as he threw off his school robes.

"I think we're going up to the Astronomy Tower," Ron answered. "I wanted to go to the Room of Requirement, cause you can get a lot of privacy there. But someone's already in there, and has it locked."

The two boys dressed in silence. Ron cleared his throat. "Neville…" he trailed off.

Neville looked at Ron. He was blushing. "Something wrong?" Neville asked, tying his shoes.

"This is personal, so if you don't want to answer, I understand," Ron said.

"Okay," Neville said.

"How far have you and Luna…" Ron couldn't seem to finish the question.

Neville blushed thinking about that, remembering what had happened just last week. "Well, she let me touch her…but over her shirt, not under…" Neville couldn't quite bring himself to say the word breasts.

Ron breathed a sigh of relief. "Same here," he said. "What is it about women that turns us into such blundering idiots?"

Neville laughed. "I don't know, mate. I don't know."

88888

Neville waited outside of the Greenhouse, wondering what Luna had up her sleeve. He saw her coming down the hall, levitating a large basket. He felt his breath catch in his throat when he got a good look at her.

Her hair was up, off of her face. She was wearing a red dress that went all the way to her ankles. The dress was sleeveless, but she had a black lace shawl draped around her shoulders.

Her face lit up when she saw him. Neville still couldn't believe how wonderful she could make him feel just by looking at him.

Neville opened up the Greenhouse, and followed her inside. He looked around in amazement. Someone had strung colored lights up, and soft music was playing in the background.

"Did-did you do this?" Neville stammered.

"Happy Valentine's Day," Luna whispered. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a slow, lingering kiss.

"How?" Neville asked, when they broke apart.

"Right after classes were done," Luna answered, going over to the large basket. She brought out a blanket, and spread it on the floor.

"I mean, how did you get in here?" Neville asked in amazement.

"It's not like you kept the password a secret," Luna smiled. "I hear you every time you say it."

"Oh," Neville said. He hadn't realized.

Luna kneeled on the blanket and started bringing out dishes of food. "We're having a picnic," she said happily.

"Where'd you get this food?" Neville was still in shock. He decided that he had the best girlfriend in the world.

"I asked the House-Elves nicely," Luna said dreamily. "I told them I would be having a special night. They were very happy to help."

Neville looked at the food. There was a steak for him, and a large platter of grilled vegetables for her, since she didn't eat meat. Twice baked potatoes and salad.

Luna stood up and adjusted the lights of the Greenhouse so that only the colored lights were the only light. She sat down again on the blanket, placing her knees beneath her. She looked up at him, and patted the seat next to her.

He sat down slowly. Luna took her wand out of the basket and gave it a wave. Neville gulped. She placed an imperturbable charm on the Greenhouse.

They talked all through dinner. Neville couldn't wait to see what was for dessert. But Luna said he couldn't have dessert until he tried at least three different vegetables.

"I don't think you eat enough vegetables, Neville," she said, her eyes wide.

"I eat plenty," Neville laughed.

"Please have one more bite?" she begged.

He complied. Then Luna brought out a slice of chocolate cake for him, and some strawberry shortcake for herself. She told him that she was indulging tonight.

Neville thought it sad that they had to have two completely different meals because of her illness. He was not about to tell her that though. The last two weeks had been wonderful. He didn't want to ruin them by acting too concerned.

They ate dessert in silence. Then Luna took out a package from the basket. "I have a present for you," she said shyly.

"Me too!" Neville jumped up and ran to his dress robes. He fished through the pockets and found the small box. While he was turned away, he quickly performed a breath-cleaning spell on himself.

Her eyes lit up when she saw the box. He handed her a card first though. "You have to promise not to laugh," he said seriously.

"I promise not to laugh," she said dreamily.

She opened up the card, and Neville willed her to keep her promise. He had written a poem for her. He knew it was awful and cheesy, but he wanted her to have it just the same.

"Luna, you are beautiful like the moon," she read out loud. "Your voice is like the call of a loon. I see you, and I want to swoon. Do you really have to go so soon? I better stop babbling like a buffoon."

Neville was surprised to see tears in her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered.

"I know it's bad," Neville stammered.

"It's perfect," Luna smiled at him. "Perfect."

She took the small box, and opened it carefully. Neville was glad to see her smile when she saw the earrings. "They're finished?" she asked excitedly.

Neville nodded. "The Turnishes are ready to be shown to the world," he laughed. He watched with pleasure as Luna took out the earrings she had been wearing. Taking a last look at her new earrings, she put them on quickly and shook her head.

"I love them!" she cried excitedly, throwing her arms around him.

He hugged her tight, thrilled that she was happy.

"Your turn," Luna said, handing him a card and a package.

Neville jokingly went to open the package first. "Card first, silly," she scolded him.

"Fine, have it your way," Neville said, grinning at her. He opened the card. It was obviously hand made. There were two stick figures holding hands. The card had been bewitched, so that the girl stick figure kissed the boy stick figure on the cheek. Then the boy stick figure blushed.

"Did you draw this?" Neville asked.

Luna laughed. "I can't draw at all."

"I like it," Neville said. He really did. There was something so perfect about the drawing. He opened the card to read the inside. It was wonderful and mushy and made Neville feel ten feet tall.

"You're really hard to shop for," Luna said.

"No I'm not," Neville said automatically.

"Yes you are," Luna countered.

"Fine," Neville grinned. "I'm very hard to shop for."

"I'm glad we agree," Luna said.

He tore open the wrapping paper. There was a teddy bear that was holding some sort of packet of seeds.

Luna seemed to realize that he was confused why she gave him a teddy bear. "Read the label," she said shyly.

"Mongolian Fireroses," he read aloud. He looked at the label in shock. These were really rare. They were considered the most beautiful roses in the world. They were also very expensive. "Luna…how could you afford…"

Luna put her finger to his lips. "They're a few years old, so I hope they still work. Daddy used to love to garden. But then he gave it up. I asked him if he had any interesting seedling packets, and he owled me these. I didn't spend any money on them. That's why I got you the teddy bear as well."

Luna then moved closer and wrapped her arms around him. She lifted her head, and looked at him in the way that made his heart melt. She kissed him gently. The kissing became more urgent. Neville stroked her back. Her dress was made out of velvet.

Neville knew it was going to be hard to top this next year.

88888

Neville slipped back into the common room, grateful that he hadn't been stopped by a teacher after dropping Luna off at her House. He saw that Harry was sitting on a chair, staring at the fire.

Harry stood up quickly when he saw Neville. "We need to work now," Harry snapped.

Neville's eyes grew wide. "What's wrong?" Neville asked fearfully.

"Something's happening. My scar is killing me. I want to get in his head," Harry said determinedly.

Neville nodded, glad that he was there to be next to Harry while he entered you-know-who's mind.

"Can I practice with you once?" Harry asked.

"Sure," Neville said, tossing the teddy bear Luna had given him on the couch.

"No wands," Harry instructed.

Neville stood, waiting for Harry to try to enter his mind. Having worked so much with him, he could tell when Harry was looking around his mind. Neville tried to block him, but was unsuccessful.

Neville was lying on the floor of the common room, Hermione had just placed a curse on him…Neville was charging Crabbe and Goyle, wanting to fight them…

Suddenly, there was a vision that definitely was not a memory of Neville's. A building was in flames…The Dailey Prophet sign was being ripped down…Employees were being tortured…Bellatrix Lestrange ripped off her mask and laughed at the chaos.

Neville was blinded by the worst pain he had ever know in his life. The pain shot through his body, devouring him. The connection between Harry and Neville were broken. Both boys crumpled to the ground, panting.

Harry was rubbing his scar. "Did you see that?" he asked fearfully.

Neville eyes grew wide. "Was that a vision?" he asked, still shaking. That had almost been as bad as the Cruciatus curse.

"We have to tell Dumbledore!" Harry cried, standing up quickly. He helped Neville up, and the two boys ran through the hallways until they reached the Headmaster's office.

"Can we go in here?" Neville asked. He had never been in Professor Dumbledore's office before.

Harry nodded and said the password to the gargoyle. Neville followed him timidly. Harry burst through the office door. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were talking by the fire.

"Professor!" Harry yelled. "The Dailey Prophet is under attack!"

The two professors stood up quickly. "Did you have a vision?" Professor Dumbledore asked sharply.

Harry nodded. "Neville saw the vision too," he said.

"You shared a vision?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Yes! People were being tortured!" Neville shouted.

Suddenly the door burst opened again. Professor Snape practically ran into the office. He looked at Harry and Neville to Professor Dumbledore. The three professors went to talk in the corner.

"Do something!" Harry yelled at them. Professor Snape ran out of the office without another word. Professor McGonagall followed him.

Professor Dumbledore looked at Harry and Neville. "We will be discussing this tomorrow. I need to know why Neville was involved in this vision."

A phoenix perched itself onto Professor Dumbledore's shoulder. "Harry, you must close your mind tonight," he warned.

There was a flash of light and Professor Dumbledore disappeared.


	18. The First Wave

**Chapter Eighteen – The First Wave**

Harry and Neville just looked at each other in shock. Harry started pacing, almost muttering to himself. Finally he looked at Neville.

"How'd you see my vision?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know," Neville said truthfully. "You were in my mind when it hit. Maybe that's what happened."

Harry shook his head. "That's not possible," he said to himself. "Voldemort wasn't in that vision. (Neville gave a shudder at hearing the name) Every vision I've had has concerned him. Why not this one?"

Neville looked at Harry miserably. "I don't know," he repeated.

"What if-" Harry cut himself off, looking horrified. "No, that's not possible."

"Harry, are you going to talk to me or not?" Neville asked, sounding much sharper than he meant too.

Harry flopped down on the couch in front of the fire. He put his head in his hands and stayed silent for a moment. Neville sat on the other end of the couch, wanting to be there for him.

"Neville, if I tell you something, can you promise me not to tell anyone?" Harry asked quietly.

"Of course," Neville replied promptly.

"Not even Luna?" Harry prompted.

Neville shook his head. "Not even Luna," he said with a faint smile.

"I haven't even told Ron and Hermione this, Neville. You can't tell anyone," Harry warned.

"Don't worry, Harry. You can trust me. Besides, I'll probably forget what you tell me by tomorrow morning," he said jokingly.

Neville was heartened to see Harry smile weakly and his lame attempt at a joke.

"Remember the prophecy that was smashed in the Department of Mysteries?" Harry asked.

"That's one thing I don't think I'll ever forget," Neville said seriously.

"When Professor Dumbledore brought me to his office when the fight was over, he told me that the prophecy had been told to him sixteen years ago," Harry continued.

"He heard it?" Neville asked eagerly. His curiosity about the prophecy had only grown over the past year.

Harry nodded. "It said that the one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord would be born at the end of July, to parents who had defeated him three times," Harry said, not looking at Neville. "He would have powers the Dark Lord had not, and be marked as his equal." Harry seemed to hold something back, but Neville didn't want to push the confidence.

"The prophecy meant you, though, right? I mean, your name was on it," Neville said. He suddenly realized how tired he was.

"That's the thing though, Neville. It could have meant two people," Harry said.

"Really? That's odd," Neville mused. "My birthday's near the end of July. I wonder if my parents escaped him three times?"

Harry looked right at Neville. "They did," he said slowly.

Neville's jaw dropped. "It could have been me?" Neville asked, shocked.

"It was either you or me. Voldemort choose me. He marked me as his equal when he gave me this," Harry said, pointing at the scar on his forehead.

Neville stood up from the couch quickly. "So you-know-who made the choice?" he asked weakly.

"I still don't know why he chose me," Harry told him.

Neville was lost in thoughts for a moment. "Do you what I would give to have had my parents killed instead of tortured like they were?" Neville said quietly, not looking at Harry.

"What?" Harry asked. "You can't be serious. I mean, at least you can still talk to them…"

"It's not talking!" Neville shouted. "I babble away, wondering the entire time if they have any idea what I'm talking about. Sixteen years of watching them drool, scream and stare out the window ignoring me. Why couldn't he have chosen me? Then at least they would have gotten the dignified death they deserve!"

"You can't mean that, Neville," Harry asked, horrified.

"Yes I can!" Neville shouted. "If he had chosen me, your parents still might be alive. You wouldn't have had to live with the muggles and be miserable."

"Stop it," Harry said fiercely. "It's over and done with. I have the scar. There is no point about thinking what if."

Neville was ashamed of his outburst. He couldn't believe that life actually seemed more attractive if he could have been the one chosen.

"I'm sorry, Harry. It's just…" Neville couldn't seem to find the words to apologize.

"Don't worry about it," Harry said. "When I first found out, I can't tell you how many times I wished it had been you."

Neville stuck out his hand, which Harry shook firmly. "There's nothing we can do now," Harry said. "We might as well get some sleep until we find out what happened."

Neville nodded and followed Harry out of Professor Dumbledore's office.

88888

The next morning, Neville expected the Great Hall to be buzzing about the attacks. But then he remembered that most likely the Daily Prophet hadn't been able to put out a paper this morning.

His eyes searched for Luna. He found her at the Ravenclaw table, reading the Quibbler. He sat next to her quietly, and put his arm around her.

"Neville!" Luna said, her eyes widening. "I didn't notice you sit down." She turned her head and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Can we go sit with Harry-" Neville started, but was interrupted.

"Miss Lovegood?" Professor Flitwick squeaked.

She smiled at her Head of House. "Yes?" she said serenely.

"I have need to speak with you," he said earnestly. "It's very important."

Luna glanced over at Neville. "May Neville join us?" she asked.

The little professor looked from Luna to Neville. "Of course."

Luna and Neville stood up and followed Professor Flitwick into a room right off of the Great Hall. Neville started to get worried when Professor Dumbledore was also in the room.

Professor Dumbledore motioned for them to sit. "Luna, there were ten orchestrated Death Eater attacks late last night."

Luna closed her eyes. "Is Daddy okay?" she asked fearfully.

"Two of the attacks were the Daily Prophet and Quibbler's main offices. Your father was there, and he was tortured along with other members of his staff," Professor Dumbledore said quietly.

Luna reached over and grabbed Neville's hand. "Is he alive?" she asked, sounding much calmer.

"He is," Professor Flitwick piped in. "He had a punctured lung, but other than that is in decent shape. He will be in St. Mungos for at least four or five days."

"Two members of his staff was killed," Professor Dumbledore added. "Georgia Whitaker and D.J. Perkins."

"Georgia?" Luna said quietly, her eyes filling with tears. "She was Daddy's assistant. They just started going out. I always thought she and Daddy would get married someday."

"I'm very sorry, Luna," Professor Dumbledore said quietly.

"May I go to St. Mungos to see Daddy?" Luna asked determinedly.

Professor Flitwick shook his head. "We can't take any chances with students leaving the castle. Hogwarts is the safest place you can be."

Luna's usually composed face was shaking. Neville just wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her.

Professor Dumbledore stood up. "I will be making an announcement to the school in a few moments. Please go have some breakfast and listen," he said kindly.

Luna and Neville stood up slowly and left the room. The moment the door closed behind them, Luna crumpled into Neville's arms and started sobbing. "I've known Georgia my whole life," she cried.

Neville just stroked her hair, and held her closer. "What if they give Daddy atropine?" she asked frantically. "He can't have that medicine! He'll die! I need to write an owl."

Luna started walking away from the Great Hall, but Neville stopped her. "Luna, we will go straight to the owlery after Professor Dumbledore talks," he said firmly.

Her bottom lip quivered. "Promise?" she asked quietly.

He kissed her forehead. "Promise."

88888

Harry gave Neville a quick nod when they sat down at the Gryffindor table. Professor Dumbledore had just entered the Great Hall. Neville looked quickly around the room. There were other students with red and puffy eyes. Obviously Luna had not been the only one to suffer a loss.

"Terrible things happened last night," Professor Dumbledore started. "Last night, there were ten Death Eater attacks over Britain. Twenty-three people were killed last night."

A collective gasp came out of the student's mouths. "We have talked to students who were related to the victims before breakfast. I will release a list of names, so that you may see them for yourselves.

"This is a horrible crime against our world. Innocent people were killed and many more injured last night. All because of Voldemort and his grasping for power." Professor Dumbledore didn't seem to notice the whimpers of fear at you-know-who's name.

Luna put her hand on Neville's knee. Neville took her hand and gave it a squeeze. Hermione seemed to notice Luna's face.

"Your father wasn't attacked, was he?" she asked quietly.

Luna nodded. "He's alive," she said gratefully. "He'll be in St. Mungos for a while. The Daily Prophet and the Quibbler's offices were attacked."

Hermione nodded. "Of course," she said, brow furrowing. It was a look Neville learned over the years that Hermione was thinking hard. "They'll want to spread the panic even more with the stories they'll write from this."

"Hope everyone from the Order is allright," Harry said quietly.

Neville heard whispering behind him and turned around. A few members from Slytherin were all whispering and looking triumphant. He could feel an anger rising in his chest. Twenty-three people killed and they looked happy?

Professor Dumbledore sat down quietly. Neville started to grab a bagel, but Luna jumped up and grabbed his hand. "Time to go to the Owlery."

88888

Luna wouldn't let Neville out of her sight for the rest of the weekend. Finally, Sunday afternoon, she decided she needed a nap before she started studying. Neville walked her to her Common room and then headed up towards Professor Dumbledore's office.

Harry was waiting outside of the office as well. He seemed to kick the ground with his foot. "Guess we better go inside and talk to him," Harry said finally.

Neville nodded. "How's Luna?" Harry asked quietly.

"Okay, I guess. Her father is her only family. She doesn't have aunts or uncles, grandparents, or anything. She's afraid of being left alone," Neville told him.

Harry looked at him. "But she won't be alone, right?" Harry asked. "I mean, even if something horrible happened to her father, she has you."

Neville thought about that for a moment. "You're right," he said slowly. "I won't ever let her be alone."

He wasn't sure why it was that moment when it hit him. But suddenly he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was in love with her. Somehow, over the course of just a few months, Luna had become his world.


	19. Revelations

Chapter Nineteen – Revelations 

"You've been practicing Legilimency?" Professor Dumbledore asked sharply.

Harry looked that the Headmaster defiantly. "Yes, sir. We have."

"Why?" Professor Dumbledore asked simply.

Neville looked at Harry curiously. He had been practicing with Harry for five months now, and he still wasn't sure of Harry's reasons for learning.

"Because I want to feel like I'm in control, sir," Harry told him.

"I see," the professor said, staring at his hands. "Do you feel like you are in control?"

Harry stayed silent for a moment. "I feel like I'm more in control. I haven't been having as many nightmares lately. That's something."

"He hasn't, sir," Neville said.

Professor Dumbledore continued to stare at his hands. "Harry, have you told Neville about the prophecy?"

Harry looked at Neville and blinked quickly. "I told him about the parts he need to know, sir."

Neville looked at Harry feeling confused. There was more to the prophecy than Harry told him? What did he leave out?

Professor Dumbledore nodded. "Harry, I cannot stop you from teaching yourself Legilimency. Nor, can I stop Neville from being willing to help you. You should be glad that Mister Longbottom is willing to assist like he has."

"I am, sir," Harry said quickly.

"And your vision helped us a great deal. We knew where some of the attacks were that night, but not all of them. You provided the last pieces of the puzzle," Professor Dumbledore admitted.

"If you plan on continuing your practice sessions, I would ask that you do so in a controlled environment. I would ask that Professor Snape monitor your progress," the Headmaster stated.

Harry slumped his shoulders. "We're doing fine on our own," he protested.

"Harry, since helping you with Occlumency, Professor Snape's Legilimency has improved a great deal. I believe that he can help you learn faster," Professor Dumbledore said.

"So now I have to have Occlumency and Legilimency lessons with him?" Harry asked mutinously.

"Yes," Professor Dumbledore said.

Harry threw up his hands. "Fine," he muttered under his breath.

Neville was suddenly nervous about practicing with Professor Snape. Even though his potions work had been much better this year, thanks to the Reluctum Potion, the Professor still made him nervous.

Professor Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "Professor Snape has been, shall we say, preoccupied lately. But I know he will find time for the lessons. Let us say Tuesday night at six o'clock to start."

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"Show yourself!" Frank Longbottom's voice said confidently, wand at the ready.

Five Death Eaters appeared in front of Frank and Alice Longbottom, masks on and wands out. "Seize him!" A high-pitched voice cried.

"Stupefy!" A deeper voice yelled. The spell hit Alice Longbottom and started falling to the floor, but two Death Eaters caught her.

"Where is our Master? You know where he is!" Rodolphus Lestrange yelled.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix Lestrange shouted, pointing her wand at Alice Longbottom. Alice fell to the floor, twitching. Her husband Frank struggled with the Death Eaters restraining him.

"_Please! Leave her alone. We don't know anything!" Frank Longbottom cried._

"_Where is our Lord?" Rodolphus screamed. Alice was still shaking on the floor._

"_Stop this!" Frank yelled._

"_Enough, place the curse on him," Barty Crouch, Jr. said._

_Rodolphus raised his want to Frank and screamed "Crucio!" Frank fell to the ground, next to his wife. Together they screamed. Bellatrix and Rodolphus yelled "Crucio!" again, and the twitching became more violent._

_Another Death Eater grabbed Bellatrix by the arm. "If you don't stop now, they will not be able to give us any information."_

_Bellatrix laughed, "I don't think they have anything for us…"_

_The Death Eaters watched for over ten minutes. "They are now in no shape to talk," the Death Eater said, looking at the bodies of the two Aurors. _

_Suddenly, all the Death Eaters stopped. They had heard a baby cry…_

"_Kill the child!" Bellatrix screamed._

"_You're not killing a baby," a Death Eater said, picking the baby, who looked about fifteen months old. The baby had a round face and wouldn't stop crying._

"_Yes I am!" Bellatrix roared, pointing her wand at the baby._

_The Death Eater raised his hand. "You will not," he said firmly._

_The Death Eater told the child, "You should not have had to witness that." He pointed his wand at the child and whispered "Oblivate." The child started crying louder. The Death Eater concentrated, and tried to wipe the memory from the child's mind._

_Bellatrix laughed loudly, "Oh wonderful idea!" She pointed her wand at the baby and screamed, "Oblivate!" before anyone could stop her. There was a flash of light and suddenly the child stopped crying. He had a blank look in his eyes._

_The Death Eater looked at her. "Now he'll never remember anything," she said gleefully._

_The four other Death Eaters left the room laughing. The remaining Death Eater took off his hood and looked at the child._

_The Death Eater was Severus Snape._

"Neville, wake up!" someone cried, shaking him.

"No!" Neville screamed, finally waking up. He was panting and beads of sweat were dripping down his forehead. He looked up. Harry, Ron, Dean and Seamus all were surrounding his bed.

"Are you allright, mate?" Dean asked quietly.

"A dream," Neville said weakly, sitting up. "It was just a dream." He repeated the words, more to reassure him more than anything else.

Harry looked at him worriedly. "You're okay?" he asked.

Neville nodded. "I'm fine. I'm going to be fine."

Slowly, the other boys all went to bed. Neville closed the drapes around his bed. He thought about the dream he had had. He recognized the first part. That was a reoccurring one. But that last part was new. And it scared him. Why was Professor Snape in his dream? Neville didn't believe him to be a Death Eater. Professor Dumbledore would never allow him to teach here.

The baby had obviously been Neville. He recognized himself easily from pictures. But why did he see himself in the dream?

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The next morning Neville could be seen looking wildly through his trunk.

"Lose something?" Ron asked with a smile on his face.

"Go figure, right?" Neville joked. "I lost my damn Rememberall again. Second one in six years."

"I'm sure you'll find it," Ron said. "When's the last time you saw it?"

"No idea," Neville admitted. "Ah well. Maybe Gran can get me a new one for my birthday."

Neville went down quickly to the Great Hall for breakfast. He saw Luna waiting for him at the entrance. Her face lit up when she saw him. For a moment, Neville thought about telling her about his dream, but decided today wouldn't be the right time. She had too much going on.

They ate breakfast easily at the Ravenclaw table. When the morning mail came through, Luna looked up eagerly. "I wrote Daddy yesterday. Maybe he wrote back," she said excitedly, her eyes growing wide in anticipation.

Sure enough, an official St. Mungos' owl dropped a roll of parchment in Luna's lap. Her eyes scanned the parchment quickly. She smiled contentedly when she was done reading.

"Daddy's feeling better," she said happily. "He's already dictating the story he'll be writing about the attacks. He's hoping to be released tomorrow or the next day."

"Good," Neville said, stroking her hand. He wondered when and how he would be able to tell her how he felt about her. Part of him wanted to shout it out right now. But he knew he should wait for a better time.

The morning classes went quickly, which was surprising, considering the class was The History of Magic. Neville's tutor had given him an idea, which had helped a great job. He told Neville to realize that the events and the people in the textbooks actually existed. It was more exciting if you could but the ideas in context.

Finally it was Charms, which Neville and everyone else had been looking forward to. Today the class was going to start learning about Memory charms. There was an exciting undercurrent when Neville entered the classroom.

"Today we start our work on Memory charms," Professor Flitwick squeaked. The moment he started talking, the entire class became silent.

Professor Flitwick climbed a pile of books so that he could be seen by the entire class. "This will be extremely dangerous work. I won't accept any fooling around," Professor Flitwick warned.

Neville could see a few students looking around at each other. Professor Flitwick was considered one of the more easy going teachers at Hogwarts. If he was warning them not to fool around, then he must mean business.

"There are several different types of Memory charms that we will be learning. First, is _Oblivate,_ which erases a memory. There are memory-modifying charms that can modify a specific memory.

"If you find that you are particularly gifted with Memory charms, there are a variety of jobs at the Ministry of Magic that would be available to you," the professor told the class.

Neville breathed in sharply, hearing the words _'Oblivate.' _The dream he had last night came rushing back to him.

"Many things can go wrong with the Memory Charms," Professor Flitwick said gravely. "If you concentrate to long on the memory, you can permanently damage the person's memory. These people will have a hard time remembering anything, even memories acquired after the charm is performed."

"Miss Granger, would you be willing to participate in a demonstration?" Professor Flitwick asked.

Hermione grinned and bounded towards the front of the class. She sat down on a stool that was at the front.

"Miss Granger. My favorite drink is cherry soda. I love the color purple. When I was young, I wanted to be an explorer," Professor Flitwick said quickly. Hermione nodded.

"Please go to your seat now," Professor Flitwick asked nicely. Hermione complied and Professor Flitwick followed her.

He took out his wand, which was one of the shortest wands Neville had ever seen. Pointing at Hermione's forehead, he cried out, _"Oblivate!"_

There was a flash of light. Everyone in the class turned and looked at Hermione. She had a blank look in her eyes. Professor Flitwick said nothing, and suddenly Hermione showed signs of life.

She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "Did you perform the spell yet?" she asked curiously.

Professor Flitwick smiled. "What is my favorite color?"

Hermione froze. Neville realized that she probably had never been asked a question that she didn't have the answer too. "I don't know," she admitted.

The rest of the class started laughing softly. Hermione put her hands to her cheeks. "I should know the answer, shouldn't I?"

"Don't worry, Miss Granger, you helped me demonstrate the charm perfectly. Five points to Gryffindor," Professor Flitwick said cheerfully.

"Would anyone else like to try?" Professor Flitwick asked the class.

Surprising even himself, Neville raised his hand. He wanted to find out what the charm felt like for himself.

Professor Flitwick pointed to the stool. "Please sit down, Mister Longbottom."

Neville timidly sat down on the stool. Suddenly he wasn't sure if he wanted someone in his mind erasing memories. He already seemed to lose enough on his own. "I'm very skilled at these, Neville," Professor Flitwick said softly, so only that Neville could hear. "Please don't be nervous."

"O-Okay," Neville said nervously.

"I was born in Nineteen thirty two. I have three nieces and two nephews," Professor Flitwick told him. Neville stood up and sat in his seat.

Professor Flitwick pointed his wand at him and said "Oblivate!"

Everything went black for a moment. He was a flash of light and then slowly everything came back into focus.

"How many nieces do I have?" Professor Flitwick asked nicely.

Neville looked at the tiny Professor like he had never seen him before. As of a sudden he was gasping for air. His head was pounding.

"Neville?" Professor Flitwick asked nervously.

Neville stood up wildly. He had to get out of the room. It was suffocating him. Without a word, Neville ran out of the classroom at full speed. He ran down towards the dungeons, heading towards the boys' bathroom.

Entering the bathroom, he turned on the faucet and splashed some water on his face. He put his hands on the sink and looked at himself at the mirror. His eyes didn't have the blank look that Hermione's had had.

But something was wrong. Very wrong. When Professor Flitwick placed the spell on him, he knew. That same spell had been placed on him before, many years ago. He now knew the truth. All these years, having to deal with memory problems and the answer was right in front of him.

The dream was real.

Neville had witnessed his parent's torture.


	20. Confrontation

Chapter Twenty – Confrontation 

Still shaking, holding onto the sink, Neville replayed the dream in his head. When he got to the part where Professor Snape ripped off his mask, Neville promptly threw up into the sink.

He used a quick spell to clean the sink and then his mouth. Professor Snape was working behind everyone's back. That was the only explanation. He was a Death Eater!

Neville couldn't quite be in his right mind because of marching straight up to Professor Dumbledore's, he turned the other way and headed towards the dungeon.

The phrase, 'He helped torture my parents,' kept rolling over and over in his mind. By the time he actually reached the dungeon, Neville was angrier than he ever had been in his life. He wanted to hurt Professor Snape. He wanted him to know the kind of pain that he had put Neville's parents through.

Neville could hardily contain himself when he reached the dungeon door. He knocked on the door wildly. "Professor Snape!" he yelled, taking his wand out.

"What?" Professor Snape said cruelly, opening the door quickly. He took a good look at a furious Neville, and saw that his wand was out.

"Put your wand away or you'll be expelled, Longbottom," he said, his lip curled dangerously.

"We need to talk," Neville said in a voice he didn't recognize. He left his wand limply at his side.

"Put the wand away," Professor Snape repeated. His eyes narrowed through the curtain of black hair.

Neville left his arm where it was. "No," he said softly.

"No?" Professor Snape said, sounding surprised. "You idiot boy. Fine. If you want to get yourself expelled…"

Neville cut him off. "I know you were there the night my parents were tortured," he said firmly. "You're a Death Eater. Why aren't you in Azkaban?"

Professor Snape looked surprised for a moment. He then grabbed Neville by the arm and dragged him into the potions classroom. He forced Neville into a chair, and quickly placed a silencing and locking charm on the room. He then placed his wand on the table in front of Neville.

"There. I'm not armed now," Professor Snape said quietly. "I'm going to ask Professor Dumbledore to join us."

Neville sat down on a stool, folding his arms across his chest. He stared furiously at Professor Snape. He left the wand where it was.

The professor threw some floo powder onto the fire and knelt down. "Professor Dumbledore's office," he said quietly, sticking his head into the fire.

Neville could only listen to half of the conversation. "Albus? I have Longbottom here in the dungeon. I could use your presence."

A moment later, Professor Snape stood up and stared at Neville. Then there was a swoosh, and Professor Dumbledore stood up from the fireplace.

"Yes, Severus," Professor Dumbledore said quietly.

Neville started first. "He tortured my parents!" Neville screamed. "He's a Death Eater!"

Professor Snape rubbed his temples while Professor Dumbledore walked slowly over to Neville. "How do you know this?" he asked quietly.

"A memory charm was cast on me after I witnessed my parent's torture," Neville said firmly. "Professor Snape placed a memory charm on me. But then that…that woman placed another charm on me!"

Professor Dumbledore raised his hand, as if asking for peace. "I ask again, Neville. How do you know this?"

"Because it happened!" Neville bellowed. "I've been dreaming about it for months. Then Professor Flitwick placed a memory charm on me in class, and I knew!"

Professor Dumbledore looked at Neville sharply. "This was released from your memory?"

"Yes!" Neville pointed at Professor Snape. "He's a Death Eater, Professor. He should be in Azkaban. Why isn't he in Azkaban?"

"Because Professor Snape is not a Death Eater," Professor Dumbledore said simply.

"Yes, he is!" Neville cried. "I saw him!" Why didn't Dumbledore believe him?

"Harry has not told you anything about Professor Snape?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

Neville thought for a moment. "No," he said finally. "Nothing outside of class work.'

"Professor Snape is loyal to me, Mister Longbottom," Professor Dumbledore said seriously, looking down at Neville through his half-moon spectacles.

"Then he's lying to you," Neville said, finally beginning to feel defeated. It was obvious that Professor Dumbledore didn't believe him.

"Albus, is it wise to say anymore?" Professor Snape asked.

"I trust Mister Longbottom, Severus," Professor Dumbledore said softly. "Neville, anything we say here must be kept in this room. If you can agree to that, we can tell you the truth."

The truth. Neville was desperate to hear it, and was ready to sell his soul to find it. He nodded. "I need to know what happened," he told the pair.

"Professor Snape is a spy, Neville. He gathers information for us. He was there when your parents were tortured because he was trying to find out what the remaining Death Eaters knew. Those Death Eaters would have done anything to have Voldemort back in power," Professor Dumbledore said.

Neville shuddered while hearing You-know-who's name. Neville looked in Professor Snape's eye for the first time since he entered the room.

"He saved your life, Neville," Professor Dumbledore said. "The Death Eaters he was with would have no problem killing a child."

Neville let the information sink in. It was hard accepting this new reality. "Is Gran in on this too?" Neville asked after a moments thought.

Professor Dumbledore shook his head. "Your grandmother was told that you were in a completely different room when it happened. She decided it would be best if you thought you were with her that night."

"So you're not a Death Eater?" he asked Professor Snape.

"I'm not," the professor answered firmly.

"Severus, I'm afraid I can not stay down here any longer. I have other business to attend to," Professor Dumbledore said. "Neville, if you have any other questions…I'm more than willing to answer them later on."

Neville watched Professor Dumbledore take some powder and disappear from the dungeons. For almost a minute, Neville and Professor Snape stared at each other silently.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" Professor Snape asked finally.

Neville thought for a moment. There were a thousand questions he wanted to ask, but none seemed right. "How could you just stand there and watch them suffer?" Neville asked.

Professor Snape sat himself down across the table from Neville. They were talking now, as equals. "I had no choice," he told Neville.

"You always have a choice," Neville said.

"I was with four powerful Death Eaters. If I tried to overcome them all and save your parents, I would have given my loyalties away and been killed," Professor Snape said.

"But it would have been the right thing to do," Neville said sadly.

"I'd like to think that by saving their son that I honored their sacrifice," Professor Snape said softly.

Neville let out a snort. "A son that has memory problems because of a memory charm gone wrong! Some honor I am," he said bitterly.

Professor Snape seemed to ignore that last comment. "Do you have any other questions?"

Neville shook his head. Right now he needed some time alone to digest what he had learned. He headed towards the door. As he put his hand on the handle, a thought came to him. It was a long shot, but for this Neville was willing to risk everything.

"Professor?" he asked.

Professor Snape turned around. "Yes, Longbottom?" he asked evenly.

"What do you know about creating antidotes?" Neville asked.

"A fair bit," Professor Snape said seriously. "Why?"

"I need to find one for a poison," Neville said. "A blood poison."

"Are you speaking of Miss Lovegood's illness?" Professor Snape asked.

Neville was surprised. "I was," he said. "You know about that?"

"The staff was made aware of her condition in case anything happened," he told Neville. Professor Snape raised a single eyebrow. "You want to find a cure?"

Neville nodded eagerly. "Not much research has been done," Neville said, the words tumbling out of him. He wanted to talk to someone desperately about the disease, even if it was Professor Snape. Luna always changed the subject if he brought it up. "Every poison has an antidote, right? I remember that much from your lectures."

Professor Snape nodded slowly. "It can take years to find the right combination to make the antidote work correctly."

"I'm willing to work for years," Neville said determinedly. "Is there any chance…"

"What, Longbottom?"

"An hour a week. That's all I ask. I'll do research on my own, and then we could work together for just an hour. Please, sir," Neville said. He was ready to work with anyone if it meant a cure to Luna's disease.

Professor Snape mulled it over for a moment. "I have many commitments, Longbottom. I might not be able to spare an hour a week," he said finally.

"An hour every other week? Every month?" Neville pleaded.

"Tomorrow after your potions class."

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Neville walked up the stairs from the dungeons in a daze. It was almost as if he had information overload. He had learned so much today.

He saw Luna leaving the Transfiguration classroom, her arms full of books. She saw him down the hall and smiled broadly. Neville jogged to catch up with her. He quickly took most of the books she was carrying.

"Neville Longbottom," she said dreamily.

"That's me," Neville said happily. No matter how upset he was he always felt better around her.

"Let's go to the Greenhouse," she said. "I'm not hungry yet."

Neville was hungry, but put his stomach on hold. He followed her willingly to the Greenhouse. She said the password and they went inside. They both placed the books on the floor. Within a moment, Luna had her arms around him and was kissing him passionately.

Neville let himself get lost in the sensation of lips upon lips, and tongue against tongue. She started kissing his neck, and Neville felt a throbbing in his pants. He quickly moved her body to one side. He didn't want her knowing.

Finally they broke apart. "Mmm…" Luna sighed. "I've missed you."

Neville's face broke into a grin as he sat down on the floor. "You saw me at lunch," he teased.

"That was ages ago," Luna said, settling herself on the floor, laying her head in Neville's lap. He stroked her hair and let himself stare at her. She might not be a classic beauty, but to Neville she was perfect.

"So how was your day?" she asked finally, her eyes closed. She looked so peaceful, that he didn't want to bring up his dream, which might upset her.

"I know you don't like talking about it, but I'm going to start researching an antidote for your disease with Professor Snape," he said softly.

Luna sat up immediately. "What?" she asked sharply.

"Your blood turns into poison, right?" Neville asked. "Every poison has an antidote. I want to find it."

She stood up and started pacing. "Why are you doing this?" she asked, tears forming.

Neville didn't understand why she was so upset. "Luna, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" she asked wildly. "Neville, please. Please promise me that you won't do this."

Neville jumped to his feet. "Why not? I want to."

Luna shook her head, and ran her hands through her long dirty blonde hair. "Neville, my mother had the same disease. She decided that she was going to conquer it for the both of us. Well, one of her experiments went horribly wrong and she was killed right in front of me!"

"Luna…" Neville said, reaching out for her. Luna threw herself in his arms. He held her close.

"I don't know how much I can handle, Neville. Daddy's been attacked, and now the man I'm in love with is telling me he's going to try to do the same thing that killed my mother. Please don't do this!" Luna sobbed.

Somehow, her words seemed to blend together except for a few. 'In love with.'

"You love me?" Neville asked, his heart soaring.

Luna raised her head, and placed both her hands on his cheeks. She looked right into his eyes.

"Yes."


	21. Research with the Professor

Chapter Twenty-One – Research with the Professor 

Neville couldn't help himself from repeating the phrase. "You love me?" he asked again.

"I would have thought that it would be obvious by now," she said shyly, nuzzling her head on his chest.

"Luna, I…I love you, too," he told her. Neville felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, telling her that.

"Really?" Luna lifted her head and smiled brightly at him. "You love me?" she squeaked.

Neville couldn't keep himself from laughing. "Why are we both so surprised?" she asked.

She started giggling at her own question. Neville decided that one of the happiest sounds in the world was her laughter. He knew he would always try to make her laugh.

He wrapped his arms around her slender body. "I don't know," he said honestly. Then the two shared a kiss. He didn't know why this kiss seemed different than all of the others. Better, maybe.

Luna broke away, and looked at him. "Will you promise me not to work on a cure for my disease?" she asked softly.

"I can't promise that, Luna," Neville said, surprising himself.

"But-" Luna started.

"Luna, if I can do anything to help, I'm going to do it," Neville said firmly. "The last thing I want is to promise you that and then still research behind your back. I couldn't abuse your trust like that."

Luna's eyes started watering. "I wouldn't want you to lie to me," she said finally. She threw her arms around him. "Please be careful! I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you!"

He gently stroked her back. Neville had learned early on that it calmed her. "I'm sure Professor Snape won't let anything go wrong," he said, sounding much more confidant than he felt.

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Twenty-four hours later, Neville stayed behind after class was over. Harry and Ron gave him strange looks. Neville simply shrugged and told them he needed to talk to Snape.

"Good luck, mate," Ron said, shaking his head.

When the classroom was empty with the exception of Neville and Professor Snape, Neville stood up slowly and went to the front of the room. "Professor?" he asked softly.

Professor Snape looked at him. "Let me see what research you have already," he scowled.

Neville handed him over the pages and pages of notes he had complied since term started. "These are my only copies," Neville told the professor timidly.

Professor Snape pointed his wand at the rolls of parchment and said a spell. A moment later, another set of parchment appeared before them. "I'll keep the copies," Professor Snape said. "I've been looking for a new project to work on, so if I have any spare time, I will be able to work on this."

"Really?" Neville said excitedly. As much as Neville disliked him as a teacher, there was no doubt in his mind that Professor Snape was brilliant at Potions. If anyone would be able to come up with an antidote, it would be him.

Professor Snape nodded. He then started pouring through Neville's notes. For almost twenty minutes, Neville sat in silence, watching him absorb the information.

"We need blood samples," Professor Snape muttered to himself. "Longbottom, when is her next treatment?"

Neville racked his brain, trying to remember. He couldn't believe he had forgotten when it was. Then he remembered his dream, and knew that it shouldn't come as a shock to him.

"Well?" Professor Snape asked.

"I'm trying to remember," Neville said quietly. "She needs treatment every three months…and her last treatment was at Christmas…"

"So in six weeks?" Professor Snape asked.

"Yes," Neville answered.

"I need to see how the blood changes. Would she be willing to give blood?"

"I don't know," Neville said truthfully. "She's not happy that I'm working on this."

Professor Snape raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Neville didn't want to tell Professor Snape about Luna's mother. That seemed too personal for him to know. "She's just not," Neville said finally. He had the strangest feeling that Professor Snape knew he was holding something back.

"Ask her if she's willing," Professor Snape ordered. "I'd like to get a sample of her blood once a week. Then I can see how the blood transforms."

"But that will take forever!" Neville exclaimed.

Professor Snape looked up at him. "This will not be accomplished overnight, Longbottom."

"I know," Neville sighed.

"I will look over the notes, but I won't be able to do anything until we have a sample of her blood," he admitted.

"I'll see what I can do," Neville said.

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Much to Neville's surprise, Luna said she would be willing to give blood. The next week, after Neville's potions class, Luna walked serenely in the classroom.

"Luna, please sit here," Professor Snape told her.

She sat down on the small stool next to the table at the front of the class. Professor Snape brought out a syringe.

Neville shuddered. "I hate needles," he said under his breath.

"I'm used to them," Luna said as she rolled up the sleeve of her blouse. Neville watched as Professor Snape almost tenderly picked up Luna's arm and stuck the syringe in her arm.

"Did that hurt?" Professor Snape asked.

Luna shook her head. "I really am used to needles. It doesn't faze me at all," Luna told him.

The syringe slowly filled up. When it was full, Professor Snape slowly took it out of her arm. "Thank you," he said.

"Is that all you need?" Luna asked.

"I need one sample a week of your blood," Professor Snape told her. "Preferably at the same time every week."

Luna jumped off of the stool. "That shouldn't be a problem," she said cheerfully. She then gave Neville a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you at dinner."

Neville nodded, not quite ready to be alone with Professor Snape.

"I should dock points for that public display of affection," Professor Snape warned.

Neville felt his cheeks redden. "Sorry, sir," Neville muttered.

He started looking through one of the books he had checked out from the library. As he turned the pages, he could hear Professor Snape looking at the blood through a microscope.

"This is fascinating," Professor Snape said to no one in particular.

Neville held his tongue. He didn't want to interrupt anything important.

Professor Snape finally looked up. "Longbottom, what do you remember about blood restorative potions?" he asked.

Neville racked his brain. All his could remember was that the potion made blood. Specially the drinker's blood. "Not much, sir," he said truthfully.

"There seems to be something in the blood that is acting as the opposite of the restorative potion," Professor Snape told him. As he spoke, he started writing furiously on a piece of parchment. "I need to see her blood next week to be sure. But it seems like this agent would simply need to be neutralized."

"So it could be a really simple fix?" Neville asked hopefully.

"I very much doubt that," Professor Snape scoffed, not bothering to look up from the parchment.

Neville went back to his research.

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By the end of March, Neville could tell that Luna needed to have another treatment. She was tired all of the time. Their trips to the greenhouses for what Luna called their "private time," consisted of them simply holding hands. Or she would curl up on the floor, resting her head in his lap.

But Luna was determined not to have another treatment until the middle of April, which was two weeks away.

Then there was a Saturday that Luna was determined to have energy for. That morning found Luna and Neville arguing at breakfast.

"I don't believe you," Luna said astonished.

"Luna, I thought you'd be willing to…" Neville stammered.

"Do you have any idea what you're asking me to do?" Luna asked, her eyes popping.

"Please, Luna," Neville begged. "I need you to!"

"I simply can't support Gryffindor today, Neville," Luna said, shaking her head. "I'm sorry."

The final quidditch match of the year was today. Gryffindor verses Slytherin. Normally, Luna would support Gryffindor. But Ravenclaw had come out of nowhere in the quidditch standings. Even though Gryffindor had flattened Ravenclaw in their match, Ravenclaw up by seventy points. If Gryffindor scored less than seventy today, Ravenclaw would win the quidditch cup for the first time in about thirty years.

Neville and Luna were sitting at the Ravenclaw table. By then, Neville had learned to keep Luna away from the Gryffindor team when she was supporting Ravenclaw. The looks Ginny would give Luna were quite memorable.

"Luan, are you sure you can wear your hat?" Neville asked. She was so weak right now; he really didn't want her to risk it. And he just knew that she was hiding it around here somewhere.

"I didn't bring down from my room," Luna said sadly. She looked so sad that Neville wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her. "I'm too tired."

88888

"I'm going to hell," Neville muttered under his breath. "Eternity in the fiery pits…"

Neville and Luna were standing with the rest of the Ravenclaws. He couldn't believe he was doing this, but he was wearing Luna's hat.

Dean Thomas had looked at Neville like he was the ultimate traitor. Neville was grateful that Harry, Ginny and Seamus had left for the field before Neville decided to wear the hat for Luna.

She was so happy that he wore it that she could hardly contain her excitement. As she put it, "it was the type of hat that needs to be shared."

The match had just started. Slytherin was ahead sixty – fifty. Ginny had scored all five of the goals.

Seamus had the quaffle, he quickly passed it to Ginny. Ginny flew when she suddenly passed the quaffle to Harry, of all people. Harry was right next to the rings, and threw it in the top ring easily.

"Sixty!" Neville cried. He took the hat off, and placed it right next to Luna. He gave her a quick kiss and started running. "I'll see you after the game!" he called over his shoulders.

Neville ran as fast as he could down the stair, towards the Gryffindor side. The agreement was that Neville would wear the hat until Ravenclaw had no chance of winning the cup. Once that happened, Neville would be free to support Gryffindor.

As he ran, he grabbed his face paint out of the pocket of his robes and smeared some across his face. The crowd started roaring. Neville couldn't be sure, but he thought that Gryffindor might have scored.

He took the steps two at a time. Finally he reached the Gryffindor section. Hermione and Dean were holding on to the rail, screaming.

Neville snuck in between them. "What's the score?" he asked frantically.

"We're tied!" Hermione squealed.

A Slytherin chaser had the quaffle and tried to Feint on Ron. Luckily, Ron saw through it, and caught the quaffle easily.

"That's my boyfriend!" Hermione cried happily.

Ron passed the quaffle to Ginny who started speeding towards the Slytherin goals. But just then, Harry dived.

"He's seen the snitch!" Dean yelled, grabbing Neville's arm.

"Go Harry!" Neville cried as loud as he could.

Harry was diving, but then he quickly changed directions and flew upwards. His hand was out stretched. He was reaching further and further…

"Gryffindor wins!" the announcer, Colin Creavy yelled. "Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup!"

Hermione, Neville and Dean wrapped their arms around each other and started jumping up and down. "We won! We won!"

The crowd surged down the stairs towards the field. Once they reached the field, Neville looked around quickly for Luna. She was just exiting the stairs. Neville ran to her, and lifted her up from the second step.

"We won!" Neville cried.

Luna smiled weakly. She gave him a hug, and whispered in his ear, "If Ravenclaw couldn't win, I'm glad that it's Gryffindor."

Neville grinned. "I'm never going to let you forget that you said that!"


	22. Mind Games

**Chapter Twenty-Two – Mind Games**

Neville walked into the common room exhausted. He was ready to go up to his bed and go right to sleep.

Unfortunately, Harry had other ideas. He rushed up to Neville. "Can we practice?" he asked briskly.

Neville sighed, but agreed. Luckily the common room was empty except for Ginny and Hermione.

He opened his mind and felt Harry's presence. A flash of memories went through his head, mainly dealing with Luna. Neville had learned that what memories he sees usually depends on his mood. He had just come from the Greenhouse with Luna, so she was on his mind.

A sight that Neville had never seen was before him. There was a large field with Death Eaters cheering. The Death Eaters were forming groups and disapparating one by one...

There was a flash of white light and Neville suddenly felt queasy. He rested his hands on his knees and was panting.

Hermione and Ginny rushed up to both of them. "What happened?" Hermione asked fearfully.

"There's another attack!" Harry said, catching his breath. "Dumbledore needs to know..."

Neville knew he was in no condition to go anywhere. He was dizzy and needed to sit down. "Harry..."

Harry looked at Neville. "You stay here, I'll go."

Neville nodded. Ginny took his arm and led him to a couch. He sat down. A moment later, Hermione appeared with a glass of water. "Are you okay?" she asked gently.

He blinked rapidly, trying to get the white spots out of his eyes. "I...I think so," Neville said timidly. "That's happened once before, but I didn't react this way."

Hermione sat next to him and patted his shoulder. "It's really brave what you're doing, Neville." Ginny nodded her head in agreement.

"Thanks," Neville said softly. At once he was overcome by a need to see Luna. But he knew there wasn't a chance to see her tonight. She was so weak, but luckily there was only a week and a half till her next treatment.

The three friends sat in silence, waiting for Harry to get back. After a half an hour, the door opened and Harry climbed through the portrait entrance.

"There wasn't an attack," Harry said, flopping down in a chair close to the couch.

"But we saw it!" Neville protested.

"I know," Harry said softly, looking confused. "But when I ran up to Dumbledore's office, Snape and Tonks were in front of it. They would have been fighting if there was a battle."

"Maybe-"Ginny started, but then Harry cut her off.

"Dumbledore left for a few minutes to check his contacts. Even Fawkes left. Nothing happened tonight," Harry said.

"Well, that's good though, right?" Hermione asked.

Harry stayed silent. Suddenly Neville realized what the issue was.

"If there was no attack tonight, that means you-know-who might have planted the image there," Neville said timidly. Harry nodded glumly in agreement.

Hermione clasped her hands over her mouth. You could just see her thinking "Not again."

Harry leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "How am I supposed to know what's real anymore?"

-------------------------

Two days later, Neville sat down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. Luna was sitting next to him, but something felt wrong.

"Where's Ron and Ginny?" Luna asked.

"Harry and Hermione aren't here either," Neville added, feeling a sinking sensation in his stomach.

The plates in front of them became filled with food. Neville started piling his plate. The mail owls started descending on the Great Hall. Since Hermione wasn't there, the owl dropped the Dailey Prophet by her place and waited.

Luna fished a knut out of her pocket and gave it to the owl, which then flew off. She unrolled it and looked at the headline.

After a moment, Luna shook her head and handed the paper to Neville. The headline jumped out at him.

_**Fifteen More Killed by Death Eaters!**_

As Neville quickly scanned the article, he felt Luna put her arm around his waist and leaned up against him.

"What if those were the attacks you saw?" Luna asked fearfully. Neville had told Luna everything that had happened about seeing the Death Eater attack.

"But Occlumency deals with past memories, not future events," Neville said, feeling quite confused.

Then the Harry and the rest sat down with them. Neville looked them over. Ron looked furious, and Ginny's eyed were red.

"Is that the paper?" Hermione asked weakly.

Neville nodded and handed it to her. "Is everything okay?" he asked timidly.

Ron snatched the paper out of Hermione's hand and beat it against the table. "No, everything is not bloody okay!"

"Ron, please," Hermione pleaded. "Don't swear," she added, almost as an afterthought.

"Can we ask what happened, or would you rather not talk about it?" Luna asked matter of factly.

Ginny buried her head in her arms. "The Burrow's been destroyed. Death Eaters came to the house, with Mum and Dad in it. They got away, but the place is completely destroyed," Ginny said, choking back a sob.

"Is that what we saw?" Neville asked Harry.

"I don't know," Harry said truthfully. "But how did we see it? I'm not even taking Divinations this year."

By then Hermione had taken back the paper. "Two Order members were killed," she said softly.

Ginny sat up instantly. "Who?" she said, sounding scared.

"Emmet Ramsbottom and Hestia Jones," Hermione said sadly.

"Hestia picked me up from Privet Drive last year," Harry said.

There were tears in Hermione's eyes. Ron put his arm around her. "That put everything in perspective real quick," Ron told the group. "The house is gone, but at least Mum and Dad are alive."

Professor Dumbledore stood up then and made an announcement to the Great Hall. Neville didn't really pay attention. He was thinking more that for the first time, he really felt included in Harry's gang. They had spoken about the Order in front of him. Neville had heard about the Order, he knew his parents had been in it. But Harry never spoke about it front of Neville. Until today.

-------------------------

Even though only two days ago there were Death Eater attacks, the trip to Hogsmeade was still on. In a way, Neville was glad. It would be a welcomed distraction.

It took awhile for Luna and Neville to walk there. Luna was walking very slowly. Neville asked if she'd rather just stay at the school, but she was insistent. He tried to help a little; she was holding on to his arm. Neville was very glad she was getting a treatment next weekend. He missed the energetic Luna that was so passionate about everything.

"Where to?" Neville asked. Luna stopped and thought for a moment.

"It's Daddy's birthday soon," Luna said. "I need to find him a birthday present."

"What are you going to get him?" Neville asked.

"I don't know," Luna pouted. "Daddy's hard to shop for."

"Am I hard to shop for?" Neville asked, genuinely curious.

Luna shook her head. "Not at all. Just get you some seedlings and you're happy," she smiled.

Neville laughed, knowing perfectly well that that was true. He took a good look at Luna. She was wearing the Turnishes earrings. He allowed himself a small smile seeing that.

They stopped in front of the bookstore. Walking inside, Luna led him to the astrology section. "I think Daddy's into this now," she said, chewing on her lower lip. "I never know though. He changes hobbies every other day."

Luna stared at the selection for almost five minutes. Finally she chose a book with a ratty looking cover. _Dine with the Stars; and Dance with the Planets_, by Uni Versey.

"I hope this works," Luna whispered to herself.

"It looks good," Neville said encouragingly.

Luna nodded and took Neville's arm. Together, they walked up to the cash wrap, where she paid for the book.

"Should we go have a butterbeer?" Neville asked, desperate to please.

Luna looked thoughtful. "The Three Broomsticks is too loud," she said finally.

"I know," Neville said, feeling inspired. "I'll grab two butterbeers, and we can walk to the Shrieking Shack. It won't be loud there."

Luna's face lit up. "I'd like that," she said happily. She sat down on a bench, and ran inside the Three Broomsticks. He quickly passed Harry, Ron and Hermione who were sitting with...Neville couldn't remember her name. All he remembered was that she was an Auror.

He gave the table a quick wave and then paid for the butterbeers. A moment later, he was by Luna's side. They walked slowly to the Shrieking Shack.

Neville helped Luna sit down on the ground carefully. And then sat next to her, and opened their drinks. They sat in silence. Luna rubbed Neville's knee. After the drinks were finished, Luna rested her head on Neville's lap and fell asleep.

He gently stroked her hair while she slept. After fifteen minutes or so, he could see Crabbe and Goyle walking in the distance.

Neville groaned. The last thing he needed was a run-in with these two. "Luna," Neville said gently.

"Hmm..." Luna sighed.

"Luna, it's time to get up now, honey," Neville said.

She nodded and gave a wide yawn. Slowly she sat up. When she was sitting, Luna put her hands on the ground quickly and closed her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Neville asked. He was beginning to get worried. "Why don't we go back to Hogwarts?"

He started to grab her hands to help her up. "Too dizzy," she mumbled.

He knelt next to her and felt her forehead. Luna was burning up. "Luna, what should I do?" he asked, trying to sound calm.

"St. Mungo's," she said softly. "I need to go to St. Mungo's."

Neville gulped and jumped up off of the ground. Very carefully, he scooped her up in his arms. "Does this hurt?" he asked, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Luna shook her head, which he hoped meant no. He walked right past Crabbe and Goyle, hoping that they wouldn't say anything. Luckily, all Crabbe did was crack his knuckles while Goyle pounded his fist.

"Where's a teacher when you need one?" Neville muttered under his breath. Looking around frantically, he saw Professor Snape. He walked towards him.

"Professor!" Neville cried out. Professor Snape was by his side in an instant.

"What's wrong, Longbottom?" he asked.

"Luna needs to go to St. Mungos," Neville said quietly.

Professor Snape took a good look at Luna. "Let's take her to the hospital wing first. We can stabilize her there, and then go to St. Mungo's," the professor said.

They started walking towards the castle. Neville paused when they got to the small hill they needed to walk up. He wasn't particularly strong, and didn't know how much longer he could hold Luna.

Professor Snape seemed to sense his hesitation. "I'll take her from here," he said, taking Luna from his arms.

"Thank you," Neville said gratefully.

Minutes later they were up in the hospital wing, with Madam Pomfrey looking her over. "Nothing I can do here," she said. "I'll take her to St. Mungo's and get her admitted. Severus, let Professor Flitwick know. He can contact her father."

"Can I go with?" Neville said.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "Students aren't allowed to leave Hogwarts, Neville," she said gently. "I'll let you know what happens."

Neville walked over to where Luna was lying. Even though she was sick, she still looked so at peace with herself.

"Luna?" he said softly, hoping Professor Snape or Madam Pomfrey couldn't hear. Her eyelids fluttered slightly. He kissed her forehead. "I love you," he whispered in her ear.

Neville stepped away and watched Madame Pomfrey floo with Luna over to St. Mungo's.

-------------------------

**A/N – Thank you so much for all the happy birthdays! I had an awesome b-day. Tres fun. Just a quick note to everyone. I'm moving out of my apartment. Yeah, I have less than a week to pack everything out and move. Good times. I probably won't get to update any of my stories for a while, until I'm settled. I'll try to update, but I make no promises. It's awful timing too, specially cause there's only three to four chapters left to this story. I know! It's almost over. But don't worry. The sequel is already in the works!**

**Note to Caroline – I wouldn't mind at all if you translated my story! It's an honor!**


	23. Battle at the Ministry

Chapter Twenty Three – Battle at the Ministry 

Neville refused to leave the hospital wing, even though Professor Snape tried to order him.

"I'm not leaving until Madam Pomfrey comes back," Neville said stubbornly.

"Fine," Professor Snape snapped. He turned, and Neville watched him leave.

Neville sank down on one of the empty hospital beds. He let out a deep breath. Neville wasn't quite sure how long he stayed there. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned, and stood up instantly when he saw that it was the mediwitch.

He knew it wasn't good news when he saw her face. "It takes time for the blood to be prepared," Madam Pomfrey started. "They're hoping to have the blood ready by Monday morning. If she can hang on until then..." The statement was left hanging in the air.

Neville closed his eyes. "Can I please go see her?" he asked quietly.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "They're keeping her in a very controlled environment, Longbottom. They won't even let her father see her. It's the only chance she has to survive," she said sadly.

Neville's shoulders slumped, realizing there was literally nothing he could do except wait.

Somehow the day passed, as well as Sunday. Both days he wrote Luna page after page. He even decided to send them to St. Mungos. He knew she wouldn't read them until her treatment was over, but at least she would know that he was thinking of her.

Monday was torture. Luckily by then, Neville realized that no news was good news. Her blood should be starting to drain he told himself during breakfast. He wondered how long that process took. He told himself to ask Luna about the details of her treatments.

After class, he walked over to Professor Snape's office. They had a scheduled work session that afternoon. Neville realized the moment that he walked into the office that Professor Snape was in quite a fowl mood.

"What?" Professor Snape barked, not looking up from his desk

"Professor?" Neville asked timidly.

"Are we meeting today, Longbottom?" the professor asked.

Not wanting to risk speaking, Neville simply nodded his head.

Professor Snape stood up from his desk and walked over to a workstation. Silently, Neville put on this gloves and an apron.

Suddenly, there was a crash. Neville turned quickly and saw a figure getting up from the fireplace. He recognized her as the metamorph that Draco Malfoy tried to put the Imperius Curse on.

"Severus!" she exclaimed. She stopped when she saw Neville. "I've come at a bad time."

"It'll be just a moment, Longbottom," Professor Snape said. He walked towards her and they went into his office.

Briefly Neville wondered what they were discussing. Were they working on plans from Professor Dumbledore?

Just a few minutes later they emerged from his office. Neville noticed that her hair was a different color from what it was before. Now it was more of a strawberry blonde when before it was a light blue. Quickly, she took a handful of floo powder and flooed away.

Professor Snape walked back to the table. He started to take a vial of blood nut then put it down. "Longbottom," he sighed, "I'm sorry, but I can't work today. Why don't we meet Thursday?"

Neville tried not to look disappointed. Now that Luna was in St. Mungos, he was more determined than ever to find a cure for her. "Fine," Neville said.

Neville walked slowly back to the Gryffindor Common Room. All he wanted was to lay down and go to sleep. He knew that was the worst thing he could do, he had a great amount of homework to get through.

He dragged his book bag into his bed, figuring he should do a little work tonight. Glancing over at his nightstand, Neville let out a loud groan.

"Trevor!" Neville muttered under his breath. Trevor was missing from the small cage that he was normally in. He checked all the usual places, under his bed, in the wardrobe, with no luck.

Shaking his head, Neville walked into the common room. Harry, Hermione and Ron were sitting by the fire. "Hi Neville," Hermione said.

"Have you seen Trevor?" Neville asked desperately. They all shook their heads.

Hermione jumped out of her chair. "I'll help you look," she said, giving him a smile. Harry and Ron got up as well. For several minutes, the group looked in silence. Trevor was nowhere to be found.

He was quite old for a toad. Neville had had him since he was nine years old. His Great Uncle Algie gave him to Neville for a birthday present. Trevor would disappear for long periods of time when he first got him. His grandmother, trying to be kind, told Neville that Trevor was taking mini-breaks, that he was going to see the world. Hopefully this time, Trevor wasn't visiting the Forbidden Forrest. Neville didn't like Trevor's chances there.

Instead of going to bed, Neville sat down with the group and took out his schoolwork. For several hours, they worked on their schoolwork.

Close to midnight, Neville's head started pounding. There was a sharp pain in his forehead that he had never felt before. He brought his hand up to his forehead, trying to ease the pain. Neville was startled to see Harry do the exact same thing at the exact same time.

The two boys looked at each other like they never saw the other before. "Are you okay Neville?" Hermione asked worriedly, at the same time Ron asked, "Harry, is your scar hurting?"

"Something's happening," Neville said timidly. Harry nodded in agreement, his eyes not leaving Neville's face. Neville had no idea how he knew, but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that somewhere Death Eaters were attacking.

"There's been another attack," Harry added. "Neville...should we practice Legilimency?"

Neville looked around. The common room was still full of students working on their homework. "We can't here," Neville said. "We'd have to go somewhere."

"Room of Requirements," Hermione said instantly.

"How would we all get there?" Ron asked. "The three of us can't fit underneath the cloak anymore. How would we fit Neville?"

"That's only because you're too tall, Ron," Hermione said in a hushed voice. "Look, I'll go with Harry and Neville," she started but Ron cut her off.

"I need to be there with them," he said heatedly.

Hermione squeezed Ron's hand. "You didn't let me finish. I'll walk with them, and then come back for you. It's best if I go by myself, I won't get in trouble if I'm found."

Neville was lost. He had no idea what they were talking about. "How would we get there?" he asked.

Harry grinned. "You can't tell anyone, Neville. I have an invisibility cloak," he said.

"Really?" Neville asked excitedly. "That's so cool."

"So what I was saying," Hermione said.

"Well, why do you and Ron have to be under the cloak?" Neville asked. "You're Prefects. You won't get in trouble being out this late. Only Harry and I need to be under the cloak."

Ron and Hermione shared a look. "You're right," Ron said, slapping his forehead. "I can't believe I forgot that."

"I'll get the cloak," Harry said. A moment later he ran down the stairs, holding a silvery piece of fabric. "Let's go."

Harry threw the cloak over both of them. It was a strange sensation. Neville knew that there was a cloak over his eyes, but he could still see everything around him.

"It takes a few minutes to get used to this," Harry whispered.

Ten minutes later, Hermione walked back and forth in front of the painting. The door opened, and the group went inside. By then, the sharp pain in Neville's forehead had subsided. Harry was still rubbing his forehead though.

"Don't try to block me," Harry told Neville. Neville handed his wand to Hermione.

He opened his mind and could feel Harry start to explore. Memories started rushing forth, but nothing that was out of the ordinary. They shared their minds for close to fifteen minutes. Finally Neville broke the connection. By then, he was sweating and panting for breath.

Neville looked over at Harry, who wasn't looking much better. "Nothing," Harry said frustratedly, throwing his wand at the wall. "Why couldn't we see anything?"

Hermione went to pick up Harry's wand. "The first couple of times you saw something together, you weren't looking for anything specific, correct?" she asked.

Harry nodded. "Maybe these visions don't want you looking for them. Maybe they have to be willing to find you," Hermione said gently.

"That's ridiculous," Ron scoffed. "How could a vision decide if it wants to be found?"

"You'd be surprised, Ron," Hermione said. "Ever since our battle at the Ministry, I've read everything I could about prophecies and visions."

"Which means you now know everything about them," Ron grumbled. Hermione smacked him on the shoulder. "Sorry, love."

"It's late," Hermione said seriously. "I don't want you both hurting yourselves."

Harry sighed, and threw the cloak back over him and Neville. Together the group walked slowly back to the common room, hoping that the headline of the Daily Prophet wouldn't be too horrible.

Neville, Harry, Ron and Hermione stared at the Daily Prophet in horror the next morning.

_**Attack at the Ministry!**_

Late last night, Death Eaters attacked the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry was not prepared for such an attack. Luckily, there were no fatalities from the Aurors. However, several Death Eaters were hurt and are currently being treated in St. Mungos. The ward that the Death Eaters are in is very protected. They will be treated and then sent to Azkaban.

"Luna's in St. Mungos," Neville whispered. "She's in the same building with Death Eaters..."

Hermione have him a sympathetic look. "I'm sure she's fine. I doubt that the Death Eaters there are in any condition to fight."

"When will she be back?" Ron asked.

"As long as everything went okay, hopefully tonight," Neville said sadly. He missed her so much that it hurt. He still hadn't heard anything.

Somehow the morning passed. Neville got a shock when he walked into Potions. There was a wizard that he had never seen before standing at the front the room. Everyone started sharing looks.

"I'm Professor Parkinson," the man told the class. Immediately every student turned to face Pansy Parkinson, who seemed to be sinking lower and lower in her chair. "Professor Snape will most likely be out for a few weeks. I will be your teacher during that time."

It was one of the most enjoyable potions classes Neville could remember. Without Professor Snape breathing on his neck, Neville found himself relaxing and making a potion that he was very proud of.

When class was over, Harry motioned him over. "We're going to talk in the Room of Requirements," he whispered to Neville.

Neville nodded and followed the group. Ginny was waiting for them there. They let themselves in.

"That's an interesting coincidence, isn't?" Ron smirked.

"What?" Ginny asked.

"Snape wasn't in potions today. He's out for a few weeks," Harry answered.

Ginny's mouth dropped. "No way," she whispered. "Do you think he got hurt last night?"

"That's the only thing that it could have been," Hermione said. "The question is what side was he fighting for?"

"He had to have been fighting on our side," Harry said. "Can you imagine the headlines if he had been caught as a Death Eater?"

"That's true," Hermione said thoughtfully. "But I don't know. He can't fight out in the open, he'd give himself up as a spy."

"Oh yeah," Harry said. "That."

"At least no members of the Order were hurt," Hermione said.

"But isn't Snape in the Order?" Neville asked. He was trying hard to follow the conversation. "He had to be hurt."

"Snape's in the Order, all right," Harry said darkly.

The group kept talking about the Battle at the Ministry. Finally, when all of their stomachs were grumbling, they decided to go down and have some dinner.

As he entered the Great Hall, he saw the best thing he could have seen. Sitting at the end of the Ravenclaw table, eating a pile of vegetables and looking unconcerned about all around her, was Luna.

**A/N – Yeah! I updated! The move is done. Phew. I hate moving. I still have work to do, so it might still be a while before I update at the pace you all are used to. I'm doing my best! :) Thanks for reading!**


	24. A New Haircut

Chapter Twenty-Four – A New Haircut 

Neville stopped in his tracks. He didn't want to seem rude to his friends and just leave them. But he needed to see Luna, make sure she was okay.

Hermione seemed to realize it first. "Go, Neville," she laughed. "Why are you waiting with us?"

Neville started walking as quickly as he could to the end of the Ravenclaw table without breaking into a run. When he was halfway there, Luna looked up and saw him.

To Neville's surprise, she jumped out of her seat and ran the rest of the way to him. When she was in front of him, Luna jumped into his arms. She placed her arms tightly around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. Neville was glad she wasn't wearing a skirt.

"Are you okay?" he whispered into her neck.

"I'm fine, Neville. Honestly," she said softly back, running her hands through his hair.

Neville could hear a soft laughter behind them. Some students would undoubtedly use this a gossip topic tonight. He hugged her tighter. "I was so worried," he admitted. "No one would tell me anything."

Luna pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes. "Let's not talk about it here," she said.

Neville nodded. "That's fine."

"Sit with me?" she asked. She put her feet on the floor and took his hand. Together, they walked back to the end of the Ravenclaw table. Neither said much as they ate dinner. Neville couldn't help himself from staring at her. Luna was back. She looked healthier than he had seen her in a while. A thought snuck into his head. And she's yours, the thought whispered. Sometimes it just amazed him that Luna could love him as she did. And that he could love her back as much as he did.

As he continued to stare, he realized that she looked much different. "What happened to your hair?" he asked.

Luna ran her hand through her now very short blonde hair. A sad look crossed her face. "The Healers at St. Mungos cut it when I was in stasis. They said it kept going in my face, and causing problems," she said, sounding upset.

Neville couldn't blame her. Luna loved her waist length wavy hair. Now it was cut in a layered bob. Before when her hair was long, she simply had waves in her hair. Without the extra weight of long hair, it was incredibly curly.

"I hate it," Luna announced.

Neville took another look. The new haircut made Luna look older, a bit more sophisticated. It framed her small face very nicely, actually. "I kinda like it," Neville said tentatively.

"Really?" Luna asked. "Do you really?"

Neville lifted his water glass. "Out with the old, in with the new," he said jokingly.

"Well, I guess it's not that bad."

When they both stopped eating, Luna stood up and practically dragged Neville towards the Greenhouse. Neville sat down on the floor, wanting to hear every detail of what happened to her, but apparently, Luna had different ideas.

Luna pushed Neville down on his back. She laid next to him, on her side, and they started kissing frantically. Neville was in heaven. They hadn't been able to kiss like this in a while, because Luna had been too weak.

Neville started nibbling a place on Luna's neck that he knew she liked. Then Luna moved, so that she was on her back. Neville switched to his side and continued sucking gently on the spot where her jaw met her neck.

His hand rested gently on her stomach. She wasn't wearing the school uniform, but a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. The shirt had risen slightly, so Neville's hand was resting on bare skin.

Before he could stop himself, Neville's hand started inching upwards. When his hand made contact with her breasts, Neville quickly drew his hand away, realizing that she wasn't wearing a bra.

"It's okay, Neville," Luna whispered.

Neville looked down into her eyes. "Are you sure?" he asked timidly.

Luna nodded, looking like her normal peaceful self. "I'd like you to," she said finally. Neville put his hand back where it was and started exploring.

A while later, Neville was sitting up, leaning against a table. Luna was lying on the floor, her head in Neville's lap.

"I almost died," she said softly.

"I figured that," Neville said.

"I was so determined not to get a treatment for three and a half months," she said. "I had completely forgotten that I hadn't responded well at first."

"But you're better now, right?" Neville asked.

"Until I need another treatment," Luna conceded. "All I could do was just lie there. It was awful. I stayed in the same small little room until they were able to conjure the blood."

A small smile crept on her face. "It's basically my idea of torture, being forced to be still for so long. But I kept thinking of you."

Neville ran his hand through her now curly, short hair. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't made it."

"I wouldn't have if it wasn't for you," Luna told her. "You kept me alive."

She sat up, and put her arms around him. "I have a question to ask you, Neville Longbottom."

"Sure," Neville said good-naturedly.

"I'm going to have another treatment in the middle of July. After that, Daddy and I going to go to Africa. Daddy got a tip that the Kifern Faeries left Britain to go to the desert. He said I could bring someone with me…"

"Still looking for those Faeries?" Neville said, smiling.

Luna nodded, and then rested her head on his shoulder. "Everybody searches for something, Neville. It's just that we're all looking for different things."

She paused for a moment. "Would you like to come with? I know it might be a bit awkward, cause we'd be with my dad, but just think of us in Africa. It would be perfect if you were there."

"Africa?" Neville said wonderously. "I've never been outside of Britain."

Luna sat up straight. "Then you have to go. I won't accept no for an answer!"

"I'll have to ask my gran," Neville said seriously. "I don't know if she'll let me go."

"I hope she will," Luna said. She stood up. "We're going to stay with the Masai tribe. Daddy made a friend of one of them years back.

"Can't you imagine us dancing around a bon fire and learning African magic? It's even more ancient than Egyptian magic!" Luna cried. Neville smiled. Luna seemed to be dancing around an imaginary bon fire as she spoke.

"I will do everything in my power to make sure I can go," Neville promised her.

Luna stopped her twirling, looked at him and smiled. "Good," she said softly. She nestled herself back in Neville's arms and sighed. "Just think of all the adventures we'll have when we're done with school."

88888

Time passed, and there was still no sign of Snape. A third year Hufflepuff claimed to have seen him in the Hospital Wing unconscious. But no one really believed her.

In a way, Neville was very disappointed that Professor Snape seemed to have disappeared. Without him, Neville couldn't really work on an antidote for Luna.

Neville was doing some of his best work in Potions. Professor Parkison was the complete opposite of Professor Snape. He was very patient, and was more than willing to answer any of Neville's questions.

One day, he stayed after class with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Hermione had a question for him, and then they were all going to go outside and do homework.

Neville watched with interest as Professor Parkison said, "Have a good day, Pansy." Pansy Parkison threw her nose in the air and walked past him without another word.

The group started to share a look when Professor Parkison joined them. "I will answer your unasked question," he said, a serious look on his face. "Pansy is my niece. Her father and I are brothers."

"Why won't she speak to you?" Hermione asked quietly. Pansy never even looked in the professor's direction.

"I did the unthinkable. I married a muggle," he told the group. "I soiled the Parkison name, they told me. No one in the family speaks to me, my wife or my son."

"Is your son a wizard?" Ron blurted out.

Professor Parkison shook his head. "Surprisingly not. He's about your all age. He goes to a muggle school called Smeltings."

At this, Harry let out an odd sound, a cross between a cough and a laugh. "Are you all right?" the professor asked kindly.

"My cousin goes there," Harry said. "Dudley Dursley."

Professor Parkison's eyes narrowed slightly. "Dursley, eh? I've heard about him from Nelson. I think he picks on my boy a bit."

Harry shrugged. "Dudley picks on anyone he can," Harry said. "I'm his favorite target."

Professor Parkison raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"I'm used to it."

88888

As the end of the school year approached, Neville found himself seeing less and less of Luna. Her O.W.L.S. were very soon, and she seemed to want to spend every free moment she could studying.

She was incredibly tense, and they got into their first real fight just two days before testing began.

They were in the Greenhouse. Neville was hoping that she'd want to snog a bit, but her Charms book wouldn't leave her hands.

"Test me?" she asked.

Neville sighed. He tested her all the time. He was confident that she would do great on the tests, but Luna never agreed.

"Okay," Neville shrugged.

Luna practically threw the book in his hands. For a half hour, Neville asked Luna to before different charms. She got every single one right.

"I'm going to fail," Luna said miserably.

"How can you say that?" Neville asked. "You're doing great!"

"I'm doing horribly," Luna snapped. "I was supposed to make that shovel do the cha-cha! I only was able to make it waltz!"

Neville tried to stifle a laugh. "You still made the shovel dance, Luna."

"You're laughing at me," Luna said seriously.

Neville stopped smiling. "I'm not. Really, I'm not. I just think you're being too hard on yourself."

"Too hard?" Luna cried. "Just because you didn't take your O.W.L.S. seriously, doesn't mean I'll take mine that way."

Neville went cold. "What did you say?"

"You heard me, Neville," Luna said, hands on hips.

"You think I didn't take my O.W.L.S. seriously? I barely knew you then!" Neville yelled. "How would you know?"

"Because of your grades, Neville. You are so smart, and you don't even realize it!" Luna yelled back.

"If you didn't notice, I happen to have some issues with school, such as a reading disorder and what else?" Neville said sarcastically. "Oh yeah, some Death Eaters thought it would be fun to destroy my memory."

Luna turned around quickly and stared out the window. "Stop using that as an excuse," she said quietly.

Neville was prepared to yell at her again, but stopped when he heard what she said. "What do you mean, an excuse?" he asked.

Luna didn't turn around. "How is it that you can remember every single plant in our Herbology text book, but you can barely make a decent potion?"

She continued. "You have no problem facing a Venus Fly-trap to get a cutting, but Defense Against the Dark Arts leaves you cold?" she asked.

Neville couldn't think of an answer. It was true. Everything she just said was completely true. "I don't know," he whispered.

Luna finally turned around and looked at him. To Neville's horror, there was a tear falling down her cheek. She took a few steps towards him and put her hand on his cheek. "I know it sounds harsh, Neville Longbottom. But there is so much power in you. I know I'm not the only one who sees it. You just need to find it, and you'll be a great wizard someday. A powerful wizard."

"Do you really think so?" Neville asked, clutching her hand.

"I don't think," she said softly. "I know."


	25. Ending or Beginning?

Chapter Twenty-Five – End of Term Feast 

Neville looked back at the castle. He was just finishing up Care of Magical Creatures, and Luna should be in the middle of her Ancient Runes O.W.L. He really wanted her to do well.

Their fight, which turned into a long discussion, a few days ago kept running through his mind. Luna was so sure that Neville was meant to become a powerful wizard, but he just didn't see it. He was willing to admit that he started studying just a little longer than normal since them.

Class was being dismissed when Hagrid called him over. Hoping he wasn't in trouble, he walked towards him.

"I need ya to see something," Hagrid said. "Follow me."

Neville followed him towards Hagrid's cabin. "Come on in," Hagrid said cheerfully. "I think I found something of yours."

Neville entered the small cabin. There was a soft noise, like someone muttering softly to themselves. "Is someone in here?" Neville asked.

Hagrid shook his head firmly. "No, no. Of course not. What makes ya think that?" he said guiltily.

"It sounds like someone's talking," Neville said, taking a few steps towards the voice.

"I'm sure its nuttin', Neville," Hagrid said. "Now look what I got 'ere." Hagrid held out a small cage.

"Trevor!" Neville said happily. "Where'd you find him?"

"Over by the lagoon. Seemed to be enjoyin' 'imself there," Hagrid said, smiling.

"I must have forgotten to close the door to his cage," Neville muttered to himself. He took the cage from Hagrid. "Thank you so much. I was really worried about him."

"Not a problem, Neville. I'm just glad…"

CRUNCH 

Neville put down the cage and felt his pocket. His wand wasn't there. He looked down and groaned. A large rodent was chomping on his wand happily.

"Idiot of a wanker man. I need to use the bloody loo. What the 'ell are you looking at," the small rodent said quickly.

"I knew I heard something talk!" Neville exclaimed. "It's ruined my wand!"

"Jacob didn't mean it. He's used to being underground, Neville. 'E doesn't like being here," Hagrid said, looking at the small rodent fondly. He picked up the Jarvey that was still eating happily and placed him in a small cage. "Sorry about 'is language. He only talks in crude phrases."

Neville sighed. "I have final exams and now I don't have a wand!" Neville complained.

"Jacob doesn't know any better, Neville. We'll get you a school wand. You'd never know the difference," Hagrid said quickly.

Neville slumped his shoulders. He knew that getting angry wouldn't bring his wand back. Neville cast a dirty look in the direction of the cage and went back to the castle.

88888

Two days later, there was an unwelcome surprise in Potions class. Professor Snape was back. Neville looked him over carefully, trying to see if he had been injured, like their theory. Professor Snape looked weak, but that was all.

Maybe something was wrong, because he certainly didn't hover over all the students like he normally did. Half way through the class, Neville could hear a soft popping noise come from Professor Snape's wand. Neville looked up, and watched him drink a vial of potion.

He glanced over at Hermione, whose eyes had grown wide. "What is it?" Neville whispered.

"I'll tell you after class," Hermione said softly back.

"Is it too much to ask that you prepare your potions in silence?" Professor Snape barked. "Ten points from Gryffindor." The entire Gryffindor side of the classroom groaned.

Luckily, the rest of the class went quickly. Neville followed Harry, Ron and Hermione out into the courtyard. Neville glanced towards the direction of the Great Hall. Luna should be in her practical exam for Charms about now.

"Did you see the potion that Snape was drinking?" Hermione asked, settling herself down on the ground. The rest of the boys also sat down. Neville took out his Transfiguration textbook to start some homework.

"He looked pretty bad, didn't he?" Harry said.

Hermione nodded. "That's a really rare potion he was drinking," she told the group. "It's only used when someone's been hit by Cadonoceo."

"How in the world would you know that?" Ron asked, both eyebrows raised.

"Ronald, I had to drink the same potion a year ago. That's what Dolohov hit me with," Hermione explained with a pained look on her face.

The group was silent for a moment, remembering the battle last year. In fact, it would be exactly one year tomorrow when it took place.

"If Snape was hit with that, he was definitely in the Battle at the Ministry," Neville said.

Hermione nodded. "Snape was gone for almost a month. I was only out for two weeks. He must have been hit hard," Hermione said softly. "I feel sorry for him. I remember how painful it was for me, and that's without the incantation."

"I wonder where he was?" Harry asked suddenly. "He couldn't have gone to St. Mungos. There'd be too much publicity there. Headquarters doesn't have any medical facility."

"Didn't a Hufflepuff say she saw Snape in the hospital wing?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, but no one believed her," Harry said.

"But that's the only explanation," Hermione said thoughtfully. "He must have been here the entire time."

Just then, Luna appeared from nowhere and launched herself on Neville's lap. "Only two more days," she said, putting her arms around his neck.

"Are they going well?" Hermione asked.

Luna nodded. "I'm almost positive I haven't failed any of them yet," she said laughing.

Neville saw Harry look from Ron and Hermione to Neville and Luna. "Why am I the one without a girlfriend?" he asked suddenly.

It took Neville a moment to figure out if Harry was being serious or joking. Finally Neville decided that he was being serious. He tried to think of something to say, but no good answer came to mind.

But it didn't matter, because Luna answered. "I think you intimidate girls," she said matter-of-factly.

"Me?" Harry asked while he pushed his glasses up off of his nose. "I can't even intimidate myself."

Ginny joined the group just then. "Who's intimidating?" she asked.

Luna pointed at Harry. "Harry is," she said simply.

"I don't think you're intimidating," Ginny said after a moment.

"I think most girls do though," Luna said. "You are the Boy Who Lived, after all. Not many women can compete with that."

"Thanks Luna," Harry muttered under his breath.

Neville caught a glimpse at Ginny's face and realized that if she had anything to say about, Harry wouldn't be with out girlfriend for long.

88888

The next day, Neville and Luna were finishing dinner at the Ravenclaw table. Harry slid in next to Luna. There was a pained look on his face.

"We're having a sort of memorial for my godfather," Harry said quickly. "It was a year today. Would you both come?"

"Of course," Luna said softly, giving Harry a smile. Neville and Luna stood up quickly and followed Harry. Ron, Hermione and Ginny joined them. They walked out towards the Whomping Willow, but not too close to get hurt.

Neville was surprised to see Professor Dumbledore waiting for them. There was a very small bon-fire burning.

For at least five minutes, no one spoke. Neville and Luna held hands. He thought back to that horrible night. His dreams had changed so much over the past year. At first, every dream was of that night. Then his parents entered his dreams. And now, now when he remembered his dreams, he dreamed of Luna. Of the life he would like to share with her some day.

"Harry, would you like to say something?" Professor Dumbledore asked gently.

Harry nodded. "I miss you Sirius. It's been a bloody year, and I keep thinking that you should be alive. I keep waiting for an owl from you. At first I blamed myself. That it was entirely my fault that you were killed. Now I know it wasn't. That there are forces much larger than just me that caused your death."

Harry's voice faltered a bit. Hermione put her arm around him, and Ginny took his other hand. Harry continued to stare at the bon fire. "Just know that I am doing everything I can. I'm practicing, and I won't ever let him put another vision in my head. No one else will die because I haven't done absolutely everything possible to stop him."

He took a small mirror out of his robe. Harry then took the mirror and threw it into the bon-fire. A large flame leaped up, but then died down. Neville could see tears running down Harry's face.

The group continued staring at the fire while it died down. Finally, they all slowly made their way back to the castle.

88888

Neville and Luna survived her O.W.L.S. without another major incident. Neville was disappointed with his own tests. Though he realized that he was using a school wand, and that the tests sixth year don't count for much. He promised himself that he would work harder next year.

He couldn't quite believe that it was already time for the end-of-term feast.

"Neville," Luna said softly, "Please don't miss the feast on my account."

"This happens every year?" Neville asked sadly.

Luna nodded her head. "My roommates take things, and hand them around. It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal!" Neville exclaimed. "Why would they just take your things?"

Luna shrugged. "They have an odd sense of humor. I'm not sure why they think it's funny," she said, as she put her hand in his. "Don't worry. My possessions always show up in the end."

"Are you sure?" Neville asked.

Luna kissed him on the cheek. "Yes. Don't make me feel bad by skipping the feast."

Neville took one more moment to decide. "Okay. As long as you're sure…"

Luna laughed, and pushed him away from her. "I'm sure! Go enjoy the feast!"

He gave her a grin and headed towards the Great Hall. He could already hear the students making a great deal of noise. Quickly, he found Harry and Ron, who were surrounded by the rest of the Gryffindor sixth years.

Neville peeked a look at the banners and allowed himself a grin. Gryffindor had won the House Cup yet again. He wished he could have contributed more. Neville had lost a total of eighty-three points for Gryffindor this year. He was quite pleased with the total though. His first year, he had lost one hundred and sixty-seven points.

But he also had won ten points his first year. Ten beautiful points that allowed Gryffindor to win the House Cup. Neville had not won a single point for Gryffindor since. He thought for a moment and decided that that would change next year. He would do everything he could to win some points for Gryffindor.

Dinner was delicious and he was thoroughly enjoying his Butter Pecan Pie when Professor Dumbledore stood up.

"I have a few announcements to make," the Headmaster said. "I received a petition three days ago with every single female student's signature on it. The petition was to change the school uniform so that female students would be allowed the choice of a skirt or pants. After some consideration, I have decided that the change shall be allowed. Starting tomorrow, Madam Malkins' Robes for All Occasions will carry trousers for you female students."

At that, all the girl students started cheering and clapping loudly. Neville chuckled to himself. A lot of the boys had grumpy looks on their faces. Remembering the article she wrote for the Quibbler over the summer, he wondered if Luna put the petition together. She had never mentioned it to him.

"Another year over," Professor Dumbledore said quietly, yet loud enough so that everyone could hear him. "This has been a difficult year, I'm afraid. Lives have been lost in our war between good and evil. You are all young, yet old enough to have opinions, to take a stand on very important issues."

Professor Dumbledore cast a long look over at the Slytherin table. "I urge each and every one of you to make wise choices. I cannot force any of you to do anything. All I can do is try to open your mind. Do not close your mind to the side of light."

Harry gave Neville a nudge in the ribs. "Look at the Slytherins," he whispered.

Neville glanced over at the Slytherin table. Draco's gang, which now seemed to be led by Theodore Nott, all wore a smug expression on their faces.

"Slimy gits," Ron muttered.

"Ron," Hermione chastised.

"Sorry love," Ron said sheepishly. "But look at them. We all know who they support and they don't care about showing it."

"Just ignore them," Hermione advised.

"Easier said than done, Hermione," Harry said softly.

The good mood Neville was in faded away a bit. Slowly, the students all drifted out of the Great Hall to do some last minute packing. Instead of heading towards the Gryffindor Common Room, Neville ran to the Greenhouse.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he told his Mimbulus Mimbletonia plant. The plant had grown so large this year that Neville had to leave it at school for the summer. It simply wouldn't fit in his room.

The plant cooed softly and Neville went to work, watering and trimming some leaves. As he worked, Neville told the plant about his day.

Neville went towards the door to grab a new pair of gloves, and then stopped suddenly. Luna was standing at the door.

"How long have you been there?" Neville asked. "I didn't hear you come in."

Luna smiled slowly. "I can be quiet when I want to be," she said, walking over to him. "I was watching you work. I like watching you work in here."

"Why?" Neville asked curiously.

"Because you're so confident in here," Luna said simply. "I wish I could bottle it up for you, so you could be that confident all the time."

Neville laughed. "I have a project with Professor Snape, why don't you start one?"

"How's it going?" Luna said, suddenly looking very serious.

"The research?" Neville asked. Luna nodded her head, her eyes wide.

"Well, Professor Snape was out for a month, so that wasn't good. I'm hoping that he can work on it over the summer. And then we'll work again when I get back," Neville said truthfully. "Why? I thought you didn't really like the idea of me working on a cure."

Luna sat down on the ground and hugged her knees to her chest. "I don't know. I've started thinking about how nice it might be not to need any treatments," she said softly.

Neville lowered himself to the ground and put his arm around her.

"I hear people talk about what they want to do when they're older. I never minded before. I never minded knowing that I was only going to be on earth for another ten or fifteen years. But…"

"But what?" Neville asked gently.

"But now I do," she said simply. "Now I want to be around for a long time."

"I want you to be here, too," Neville whispered into her hair.

88888

Neville and Luna decided to start the journey back to King's Cross Station in their own compartment. They would join their friends later.

"Three weeks till Africa," Luna said excitedly.

"I still can't believe Gran is letting me go," Neville said. "I didn't think she would even consider it."

"I think the letter from Daddy helped," Luna told him. Neville nodded. Luna's father wrote Neville's gran and told her what a wonderful educational experience it would be. Neville's grandmother couldn't say yes fast enough.

Luna suddenly had a quick smile on her face. "One last snog?" she asked.

"Luna!" Neville said, mouth open. "Anyone could pass by and see us!"

"So?" Luna said, giggling. She kissed him on the lips, and Neville responded. They kissed slowly. Luna needed a treatment in two weeks and was fairly weak.

A while later, there was a knock on the window. Neville looked up guiltily and saw the Auror who was a metamorph wagging her finger at them. Neville mouthed "sorry" and moved across from Luna.

Luna laughed. "Let's go find everyone else then," she said, taking Neville by the hand.

They walked down the corridor hand in hand. Finally they found their friend's compartment. They let themselves in quietly. Ron, Harry and Ginny were in the middle of a game of exploding snaps.

"You just missed Crabbe and Goyle," Hermione said conversationally. "I think you would have enjoyed it. The slugs from last year are nothing compared to this."

Neville knew he had to take a look. "Where are they?" he asked quickly.

Hermione jerked her head back. "Next compartment over."

Neville stood up and ran to the next compartment. Crabbe and Goyle were little more than large, fuzzy balls of fur. "Nice work," Neville muttered under his breath.

The rest of the train ride was quite enjoyable, but Neville didn't feel like talking much. He kept thinking back to the train ride home last year and how different it was.

Last year, he sat with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. He knew they had a great deal of secrets. And that they wanted to talk about things and couldn't because Neville was there. Neville sighed happily. Now, now he was included in these talks. Neville felt like he was almost part of their gang.

He had friends. He had real friends that talked to him, told him things and trusted him to keep secrets. More importantly, he had Luna. And he was happier than he thought ever could be possible.

At the beginning of last year, being this happy would have bothered him. The old Neville would keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. The new Neville let himself be happy. Being happy didn't worry him anymore.

Well, at least not too much.


End file.
